To Rebel Against Fate
by ekaterina016
Summary: We all know 'routes', 'endings', 'flags', and so on. But must we follow them? Aren't we, humans, supposed to fight against that was destined for us, to fight for our desire, our ideals? To walk the path no one wanted, to brave the dangers no one dared... Isn't that what a savior does? [SS to Fate New Rebellion]
1. Summer Memories

**Hello, everyone! This is my first story in this site, and (I think) the first Fate/Apocrypha X Tsukihime Crossover. My main work in this site is as lioncousin's beta for his story, Fate New Rebellion, so check it out! This story is a Side Story to that fic, but in no way will this affect the main story and vice versa. You don't need to read this story to continue with Fate New Rebellion, nor is it the other way around. Since it's a Side Story, I'll try to avoid dragging it on to be as long as the main fic, so this will be about 5 chapters long.**

 **As always, constructive criticisms are welcome. After reading it, please kindly put your thoughts into the review section!**

* * *

It is a beautiful summer's day.

Taking a break from my duties, I decide to lounge on the porch, overlooking a plain garden. Originally, the garden itself was extravagantly decorated, with multitudes of plants from this world (which I obviously didn't recognize), brick pathways, a number of small streams and ponds, and other toys that cursed family could afford. Now, since this place serves a different purpose, I remodeled the garden, leaving a slightly disorganized and barren place.

Relaxing my muscles, I take note of the flat grass plain that serves as a mock training ground, though I'd like to organize a picnic there soon. Some of the towering trees are removed, roots and all, so the cavity on the ground can serve as pivot points for the mansion's Thaumaturgical defences. The streams that deviate from the local leylines are filled, then stuffed with traps, both lethal and (slightly) less lethal. The ponds are enlarged to be used for a fishery, for no apparent reason other than being a food supply.

I mentally note the next steps to develop them even more, before forcefully shutting my mind to simply enjoy the day. A rest is paramount to any sort of activity, especially if you're someone that's been just thrown into a different world altogether, then wanting to overthrow its local government. Come to think of it, I'm very fortunate to be blessed with a Servant's abilities, as a normal person would've had a stroke by now.

A cool breeze blows gently around the porch, tickling my hair and carrying the scent of grass and flowers to my nostrils. At times like this, I offer my prayers and thanks to God for his bountiful gifts He's given us. Truly, His creations are all wonderful, even if we humans always try to rearrange it as if we know better.

Slowly, I feel my mind dozing off... Mm... it's a good day...

* * *

It was a beautiful summer's day.

\- Shake. Shake.

"-ther! Father!"

\- Shake. Shake.

"Father!"

I slowly opened my eyes, letting them to adjust to the bright sunlight. Strange. Usually, I could detect people coming near my body even when asleep, but I didn't wake up until this girl shook my body. Hmm... perhaps I overworked myself last night?

Shifting my gaze towards the ball of energy beside me, I lifted my body groggily. I heard a few pops... ugh, yes, it's overworking after all...

Slowly, I placed my hand on top of a head covered in black hair.

"Muu!" A cute sound emerged from her lips as I started to lightly mess her hair.

"Sorry. Did I overslept?"

The girl shook her head. "N-No." Her face was apologetic, seemingly afraid she just disturbed my rest. "Err... just... I brought the bread..."

The teenage girl turned around and jogged lightly towards the table. Her hair, slightly longer than her shoulders, glinted blue under the light. Inadvertently, my eyes were then drawn downwards, to her growing back, slimming waist, blooming hips, and alluring legs. I imagined her sizable chest heaving and bouncing seductively as she ran.

Now, I certainly wasn't a raging pervert lusting after young girls, even if the girl in question had truly grown into a shockingly lovely young woman in her own right. My moniker of 'Saint' wasn't for nothing, after all. The... 'observation' above was mostly objective, with the subjective part was simply myself breathtaken by a creation of God. So it didn't count.

Right?

Basket in hand, she ran back towards me, even if our former distance didn't really necessitate a sprint. However, I failed to admonish her after seeing her beaming expression, all proud and happy as she delivered the goods.

Elesia, now 15, was the daughter of the local baker. Her father was Asian, while her mother was a native French, and the best of their features were successfully handed down to their sole child. She was of average height, but with a slim build all the people in this rural area possessed after years of manual labor.

Without taking the wooden basket from her hands, I chose a fresh roll and decided it'd do for my breakfast. Immediately, the scent of homemade butter wafted through my nose, and a familiar, supple feeling was trasmitted through my fingers. Offering a small prayer, I ate the delicious bread.

The bread, of which its previous iterations I had eaten for the last 10 years, was different in taste.

Scrunching my brow in deep thought, I tried to recognize this new flavor. It's far from unpleasant; in fact, the bread was better than what her father usually made. Since I'd lived for several decades by now, the answer came quick.

"Herb butter, wasn't it?" I smiled at her, confident in my guess. "Not as the final glaze, but the fat content in the flour."

She bashfully smiled, confirming my expectations. Truly, this girl would be asked for her hand in marriage soon by many, many males... It made my protective instinct tingle.

Again, I stroked her head, making her close her eyes with a blissful expression.

"It's very good."

Her ears started to redden, a habit she still retained even after all these years we knew each other. The blush extended to her cheeks as I prolonged my stroke, which I used as a cue to get up from my work bench.

Gingerly replacing the basket to a nearby stool, I discreetly stretched my back by flexing my muscles independently. It's a trick I learnt from my good friend Risei, based on some bodybuilding techniques. Some of its advantages was the ability to draw energy unnoticed for a preemptive strike, among others.

A thought crossed my mind, caused by the absence of a familiar presence.

"Elesia," I called out, "have you seen Nanako?"

The young woman turned around and looked all over the place, trying to discern the whereabouts of my assistant. After a while, a negative reply came back.

Nanako. Or, to be precise, the Seventh Holy Scripture, lent to me by the Holy Church. I proposed the deal through my results on the field, as in no way I'd reveal my true strength in front of those Bishops, and I received her 13 years ago. However, what amazed them was the materialization of the Spirit residing inside of it, which I simply named Nanako. Apparently, I was the first person in history to have the strength to do so. It only smoothened the process, and now she's masquerading as my personal assistant while I was in this village.

The tricky part was to figure a continuous way to provide illusions for Nanako's hands. She was originally a unicorn spirit, and as such possessed no digits on her hands and feet. I had to personally designed it, since the Church disliked using Thaumaturgy other than Holy Blessings and related skills. Fortunately, the fact she was once a powerful nature spirit played into my hands.

Nature spirits were representatives of Gaia born from nature, and all of them were able to warp their immediate surroundings to a certain degree, depending on their strength. As a unicorn, she had tremendous powers over the soul, which manifested in her abilities as a Holy Scripture. Luckily, part of those powers included the ability to grab objects with hooves, so it saved me the trouble of engineering actual tangible fingers for her to use.

' _Hah... that girl is really...! I'll spank her properly this time!'_

Yes. The other issue with having sentient weapons walking about was that they tended to... walk about. Because of the requirements to summon her ethereal body onto this plane, it's understandable that she'd crave freedom from her physical shell of a weapon. Plus, having a horn as her weapon form wasn't very practical, so she's rarely even used for cases other than emergencies.

However, that was 13 years ago. Now, I expected discipline from her, at least to a certain minimum, but she still abandoned her responsibilities too often to play outside. Physical punishment wasn't exactly my favourite, but it was that or a ban on food, which was crueler, according to my personal tastes.

Sighing, I turned towards my guest. She looked slightly disappointed for failing to locate that wild bronco. Really, she needed to relax more. It's not like my every word was law! It's confusing how she looked up to me so much, when all I did was normal for a priest of my standing. Lately, it even became a bit awkward for me.

Smiling to ward off the atmosphere, I walked towards her. Lifting her chin with my index finger, I calmed her down. "It's fine, Elesia. Rather, I need to thank you for bringing the bread."

Her disappointment turned into a strange, dreamy expression, the redness on her cheeks returned. Okay...

Holding her shoulders, I spoke, "Now, would you like to pray?"

"A-Ah! Yes!" Her mind quickly snapped into focus.

Leaving her to kneel in front of the altar, I made my rounds around the church. Topping up the holy water, checking the oil storage and candles, noting any structural wear on the building, and so on, I completed my daily routine. Again, my annoyance for Nanako's absence resurfaced, as she's supposed to reduce my workload regarding these morning rounds.

Returning to the main hall, I spot the young baker standing in front of the side door I went out of. Was she waiting for me? Ah, I forgot to give her the blessings...

"Did you wait long?" I began to quicken my pace. "I apologize..."

"Of course not, Father!" She hurriedly corrected me. "Please, don't concern yourself over me! It is I who's supposed to wait, anyways."

Touching her shoulder, I guided her back into the hall. "Please, stop saying things like that. Isn't it only natural for myself to concern about you? As a man of God, and as a human, please indulge me in this selfishness."

I heard her mutter slowly. "Geez, you're nosy sometimes, Father..."

Chuckling, I completed the blessing I gave her every morning, before seeing her off. I'd like to escort her back, disregarding any protests she might come up with, but since that pet horse of mine was being naughty, I had no one to left my tasks to.

Just a few steps outside the gate, Elesia suddenly turned around.

"Ah! I just remembered... Would you come for dinner tonight, Father? Mr. Holter gave us a few rabbits, and it's a bit much for us three to eat alone, so..."

I stopped her rant before it got too long. Often, she'd talk about things for several minutes, and then trailing off in the end with a small voice, leaving the other party dissatisfied. It's one of her few quirks, and one I found cute, actually. Sadly, both of us couldn't afford the time right now.

"Of course. I'd love to eat your cooking again."

She beamed me a smile so bright I squinted my eyes slightly, before bowing and walked back home.

* * *

\- Chime.

At the familiar sound of his door bell, Alain reflexively turned around to greet his customers. Then...

' _Eh?'_

Sighing, he chided his daughter. "Elesia, why didn't you use the back door? You know I hate false hopes..."

The girl merely giggled, before absentmindedly went around to the kitchen area, humming along the way. Almost automatically, she poured some flour, eggs, and milk, then began kneading.

She kneaded some more. And then kneaded again. And again. Again. Again...

"ELESIA!"

"Wah!"

Sighing for the second time, the elder baker spoke in a tired tone, "Hurry and clean up."

Inwardly, he smiled at the scene of his child furiously wiping the remains of the overworked dough from the floor. If she didn't throw it down when she jumped, he would never used it anyway, it'd be too airy for the customers' liking. However, this had become somewhat of a routine experience.

' _It's been... 10 years? Yeah, that's about right.'_

It'd been a decade since Shirou Kotomine arrived at this village.

He remembered that day quite vividly, since the local church hasn't had a proper priest for a few years before his marriage. Usually, a caretaker or passing bishops was the one taking care of the building, and withheld some sermons and ceremonies, mostly on public holidays. Well, it's not like the villagers could complain; after all, a backwater place like this was thankful enough to even have a proper place to pray to.

When that man arrived, along with his diminutive assistant, it caused quite a stir. Judging by his wardrobe, Father Kotomine was perhaps a big shot from a grandiose church in a large town. He's eloquent, young, friendly, and handsome, so the villagers instantly adored him.

Okay, it was the women that adored him back then, but through his first year he already integrated seamlessly into the daily life of the people. Many were worried he wouldn't be used to hard labor, even in these modern times, but they were proven to be wrong. He brought techniques and customs that optimized farming and production, which massively improved the standard of living to a level never before heard of.

For instance, using his personal connections, Father brought over and installed several sound recording and player instruments in public places, enabling them to listen to better and newer musical pieces. Of course, the one installed at the church played gospel music, but even that addition made the masses more eager to pray and worship there.

Alain's bakery had the newest microwave oven installed, as well as several snack shops and cafes. Father claimed those items were leftovers from factories, and since he knew the manager, he managed to secure several to be used by the villagers.

At the church, there was a vegetable and fruit garden developed using cutting edge technologies and techniques, like a hanging garden, semi-automated watering and irrigation system, power generator from waste plants, and so on. He held seminars and workshops every few months regarding all aspects of life, imparting his knowledge to advance the philosophical mindset of the people. Even the teachers at school always came to him for lessons and advices.

Truly, if God promised them a savior, he was certainly the person He spoke of.

...Which is a bit of a problem when your own daughter was madly in love with said person.

Elesia was only 5 years old when Father Kotomine arrived. Naturally, he accommodated all the children that came to the church along with their parents, and also provided counseling for the parents. The children back then got along extremely well with the young priest, and it's not an understatement to say he's an idol to them.

' _Ah, come to think of it... he aged_ _ **very**_ _well, didn't he?'_

It's a talking point a few years ago, when many noted the Father hadn't aged a day since he stepped foot in this place. It was jarring, compared to their own children that grew like weeds, so some harbored suspicious feelings towards him. However, he demonstrated many physical exercises that extends a person's working life and health in general, which was proved successfully by those same people. By then, he dropped a figurative bombshell, claiming he's well over 30 years old.

The announcement made the men in the village green with envy, and so they began practicing the exercises he taught them, to good effect. Actually, it was a different case for Nanako, his attendant. She said her growth was stunted by a disease, and coupled with her adorable, doe-like, charming stare, all the people that asked immediately believed her without a trace of doubt.

It was scary sometimes, the power of a girl...

Anyway. Alain had watched his lovely little girl grew up into a beautiful young woman. He might be biased, but he's confident she's the best flower in this part of the continent, if not the hemisphere. And such, he had attended quite a few proposal meetings, several of which were with good families and good boys. However, today wasn't the era of arranged marriage anymore, so he'd like her to choose for herself, much like he did when he married her mother.

When she was little, her exotic looks only served to distance her from her peers. Thankfully, this period soon ended, and she made friends left and right with her cheerful and daring personality. Growing up, those looks she inherited from her mother attracted even more pair of eyes, some good, though most were terrible.

Even if her own pair of eyes only had sights for one man.

While working on several more doughs, he continued his inner debate. A few customers came and went, but his wife and child took care of that side, so he had some time to himself. Like his child earlier, he went through the motions perfectly and unconsciously, showing the movements of a master baker.

Objectively, and with quite a sizable part of his subjective opinion, there was no better man than Father Kotomine... for any girls of marriageable age. He, as a father, would like the very best man for a son-in-law, and the prime candidate only lived 20 minutes down the road on foot. Strictly speaking, even he himself felt short as a man when comparing himself to that man of God.

However, there was always a part of his brain that... didn't click quite right when meeting the priest. If put into words, it was the part of his mind that regulates his instincts and emotions, of which he was fully aware was very inaccurate and baseless. It felt like the part of him, tempered by his travels and experiences, _rejected_ the man in question...

Almost as if... Shirou Kotomine was _not human_...

\- STATIC.

' _Ah, what have I been thinking?! It's rude to Father Kotomine!'_ Alain gingerly shook his head while smiling softly. _'Hmm... maybe I'll pray later in the evening... Oh, God! Nearly forgot my wife invited him for dinner!'_

Dusting off the flour from his hand, he took a wooden plate and skillfully places the numerous doughs on top of it, before sliding them into the brick oven. Sure, the microwave was practical, but not for mass production like this. The part of him that was most delightful regarding that device was his stomach, since he could eat warm meal anytime he liked.

Taking a deep breath, he steeled himself for the dinner. _'I'll talk with him regarding Elesia. It's best to know the opinions from both sides, after all.'_

\- STATIC.

And with that, he continued his work.

* * *

"Come on, sis!" A childish voice resounded along the riverbank.

"Yeah! Over here!" Another one rang.

\- Gusu, gusu.

If an adult was watching from a nearby elevation, he or she would simply smile at the freedom and happiness the children had. Running around, shouting and laughing, playing as if all was well in the world. After all, they're just children, right?

Except... one of the wasn't exactly a 'child'.

Dots of golden hair appeared every now and then among the bushes, in a display of hide and seek. The colour wasn't uncommon in these parts of France, and there were several other blonde tops moving about nearby. However, what made her stood out was her height.

Among teenagers, her height would be categorized as 'short', and her build was normal, albeit slightly lanky. Among the children she's playing with, she stuck up like a chapel tower. Therefore, someone might assume she's their caretaker, or perhaps she's just entertaining them as a big-sister figure.

Well, they're not wrong. But it didn't encompass the whole picture, either. Because, now, she's seriously playing with them, as if she's of the same age.

"Right, right! Hu-hu, whereever you are, get ready!" The young girl exclaimed energetically. She began to crouch, like a predator stalking her prey, eyes glinting with a wild spark. "Now. Where. Are. You?! Kukuku, hmm... Over there!"

Swiftly, she rotated her neck towards her victim-

Only to see the children neatly lining up, nervous grins on their faces.

"Ah... ahahaha..." One of them started chuckling awkwardly. "Umm... nice playing with you!"

With a bow, all of them scampered away to their homes.

At first, her mind was confused at the scene just unfolded in front of her. However, deep down, her heart and instincts already know...

' _He-He-He's right b-behind me, isn't he?'_

\- Gulp.

Exaggeratingly slow, she turned her face around her shoulders. Sure enough, a demon was there.

The demon spoke.

"Explain."

Never before in her life Nanako's mind raced so fast to search for an excuse. Of course, no half-baked excuse would postpone her impending execution, so her brain racked her memories for anything, _anything_ to be used as reasonable evidence of progress.

Despite that, or perhaps because of that, her mouth felt as heavy as lead.

"U-Um... I... found a leyline?"

The demon's aura flared.

"Wa-wa-wa-wa! And... there's a-a-a pattern!"

Silence.

...

\- Fidget, fidget.

...

"We're going home."

Nanako's face lit up in delight. "Y-Yes! Master!"

A few steps onto the hill, a cold-blooded voice

"No carrots for a month."

"U-U-Uuuwwwaaaaaahhhhhhhh!"

That afternoon, the entire village winced at the sound of tender flesh being smacked, accompanied with cute screams echoing across the streets. All of them, however, ignored the weekly occurrence and continued on with their life.

* * *

' _Ugh... a debt is always troublesome...'_

I was sitting inside my office, located right behind the rear wall of the main hall. When I first arrived here, I was surprised at the size and quality of the building, and that extended towards the office, as well. It overlooked a small stream and parts of the surrounding forest, with great natural lighting and circulation. Of course, not ideal for a Workshop, but that's what the basement was for.

However, since the basement was unavailable as storage, the fragile items there had to be relocated upstairs into this very office, while the more durable ones were kept inside a new, sturdy wooden shed handmade by the local carpenter. Oddly, he was very enthusiastic about building the thing; he flat-out refused my plan of doing it myself, and instead brought over his entire crew and erected the whole thing in a single day and night. Again, very odd.

Currently, I was analyzing Nanako's reports and findings, combining them with everything we had learnt about Michael Roa Valdamjong's reincarnation.

Why, you might ask, was I doing this? The answer was a simple Equivalent Exchange.

I wouldn't bother with the details, but the essence was this: in exchange for borrowing Altrouge Brunestud's entire political power, and quite a few of her military prowess, I would end the existence of the Extra Dead Apostle Ancestor.

Now, I wasn't saying that I had negative views about my employ, no. The Black Princess was a truly lovely and polite young woman... Ruthless and professional, yes, but certainly far simpler to handle than her air-headed sister. Elegant, beautiful, and seductive, her faction was the largest within the Twenty-Seven Ancestors (or Twenty-Eight, if you count Roa). We got along incredibly well very quickly; in fact, I could even call her my friend, not just an ally.

In order to achieve my dream... In order to save humanity, at least this much was necessary.

After the last Holy Great War, admittedly, I had no influence whatsoever to the people around me. I was defeated... because my mindset was too narrow. I was blinded by the prize in front of me, so much so that I only depended on the strength of myself and my Master, along with whatever flimsy alliance we made with other Masters and Servants.

Naive. Even after I died, had I truly learned _nothing_?!

What I needed... was overwhelming strength. Not just strength in body, mind, and Thaumaturgy, but also in politics, military, economics, technology, and many others. Only then, would I achieve complete victory... and also the salvation of humanity.

By making this deal with Altrouge, I gained myself three decades worth of political power base in exchange for one. That's one decade, spent in this peaceful haven with Elesia and her family, along with the kind villagers.

Of course, my current task was by no means simple, but that ojou-sama really provided me with the best environment to do it, on purpose or not.

If I could be critical of her, perhaps... her pride. It was her pride that led her to accept my terms with minimal consequences. Her pride, laid shattered in pieces after Roa humiliated her in their duel. Her pride which didn't allow her to sit back and let her dear sister finish her nemesis off.

To be honest, just the fact she acknowledged me to be stronger than her and didn't lift a finger to hunt me down with various reasons was an amazement in itself.

Now, onto business.

Roa based his own mindset and Thaumaturgy on the concept of Numerology. Truly a pioneer, his efforts led him to be able to access Akasha, which only a select few across dimensions were allowed to. If you're curious: no, I wasn't one of them. However, information provided by the Grail and Alaya was enough for me to deduce his methods and relationship with the Akashic Records.

The Akashic Records in itself was incomprehensible, and even lethal for most existences. As the culmination of history and the future, it could even be called 'God's Dictionary' as an oversimplification. Therefore, one must view it under a specific filter... a sort of protective visor, if you would call it that. The visor protected the user's mind, and filtered the information gleamed through it so that it's legible and usable.

Numerology, and by and extent the Kabbalah, was Roa's visor.

The techniques and principles of Numerology was simple: to use numbers to describe phenomena. Therefore, it's possible to predict future phenomena through complex calculations, and through it, the future of the users as well.

I wasn't a professor of mathematics, by a long way. So all I needed to do was collect data, determine any possible leads, and left everything else to Altrouge's attendants. My Revelation skill was worked overtime, along with every ounce of my knowledge regarding human (and non-human) behaviors and Thaumaturgy, both from the Church's side and the Mage's Association's.

After 2 years of work, we narrowed it down to this general area, and since Roa always resurrects inside a significant number of population, this village was a no-brainer as a target.

All I needed to do was wait.

And I had an inkling on who his target was.

* * *

Upstairs of a certain bakery, a small tussle was occurring.

"M-Mother! Enough! I can do this myself!"

"Ah, how can I? Ufufu, now... maybe like this?"

"Kya!"

"...Or this?!"

"Uwah!"

After a few more minutes, both of them descended to the dining room, located behind the work area. They found the patriach waiting stiffly on the table, dozing off. However, as his wife and daughter's footsteps echoed lightly along the floor, his head snapped back up, a trail of drool on the side of his lips.

Of course, it provoked a chiding from Saya, his wife.

"Dear!" She trotted to his side and roughly wiped the drool with a napkin. "What would you do if Father walked in through the door just now?!"

"Huh?" Still groggy, Alain rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "The bell would've woke me up, dear, don't worry..."

"I'm not worrying about you! Today's supposed to be Elesia's big day!"

A timid voice sounded from behind the parents, though whether they heard it or not was unclear.

"Um... Mother, it's not that much of a big deal, alright?" Taking a seat on the table, she unconciously smoothened her dress nervously, contrary to her protest. Additionally, after that, she started to fuss with her hair, then her collar, the hem...

Unknowingly, her parents were watching with a smile on their eyes.

Earlier that afternoon, Father Kotomine called them. It was quite an occasion, since something that needed to be transmitted through phone must be very urgent and important. Usually, the Father didn't even bother and walked right to everyone's front door, or sending Nanako to deliver messages, an this time the anticipation didn't disappoint.

Elesia received a scholarship in Paris.

Instantly, what was originally a normal family dinner turned into a sudden party.

Father Kotomine hadn't revealed many details regarding the news, only mentioning that he'd be slightly late in order to sort out the documents first, and that Nanako would be coming along as well. The delay only served to further the elation in the family, and the menu for the dinner was revamped substantially to a more fancier one. A simple stew changed into a roast dinner, salads into baked greens, small appetizers changed to cheese dish, and so on.

Truly, Father had been too kind for them.

Elesia was certainly a brilliant and gifted child. She quickly became her father's par in baking, her mother's in cooking, and she's always around the top every year in school. Her fellow students' comments of her was mostly positive, stating she's quick to offer help to others in need. She was popular in school and the village, but always remained humble after Father Kotomine advised her to do so. In fact, he tutored her quite often, therefore, it wasn't an understatement Elesia only became the woman she was today because of his mentorship.

The child herself was brimming with joy, her body always seemed to be trembling in excitement. However, as the hours went by, the excitement boiled down to a realist's nervousness.

All her life, she had never went outside the village, much less leaving her parent's care for extended periods. The thought that she'd list contact with her friends and the villagers also weighed on her mind, though her father, in a bout of embarassing-parent mode, shouted to the whole street regarding the scholarship. Congratulations flooded their family, tears were shed, hard smacks and pats to the back were exchanged. The support she received lessened the burden somewhat.

Although... the thumping inside her chest was because of a different reason altogether.

The knocks on the door jolted her shoulders. She turned around quickly, but her mother was already answering the door. Soon, both their guests appeared in the dining room.

Father closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, before saying, "For today, I'll indulge in the sin of gluttony. I hope God and your family can accommodate me?"

A laugh filled the room, before the courses were served and the small talks began. Father demonstrated his skill of distinguishing Elesia's cooking and her mother's, while praising both heavily, causing the girl to blush and the mother to giggle.

Such was the peaceful scene in that bakery.

The first thought that occurred to me was, _'God, she's beautiful...'_

Looking at Elesia now, and comparing her to this morning, the difference wasn't like night and day. If put into words, her self this morning was a locked treasure chest inside a mysterious cavern: plain, well-crafted, and very tempting. Tonight, that treasure chest burst open, displaying all the sparkling jewels and gold in contained.

Her beauty wasn't a breathtaking, ethereal, inhuman one. She had flaws and shortcomings, though very minute. And those imperfections... was what made her look incredible.

' _Really, where did this family hide that dress?'_

She was draped in indigo silk, a thin material which hugged her figures well and emphasized her curves just in the right place. A light make-up adorned her face, enhancing her looks without overdoing it. The dress was low-cut around the neck area, slightly revealing her sizable bust, but the expanse of fair skin was adorned with an intricate small golden necklace.

It's a long shot from the most luxurious accessories I'd seen, but I'd slash anyone's throat if they admitted they didn't suit her perfectly.

It's unfortunate that I couldn't appreciate it the way she'd like me to.

My body was that of a human. So, the flutter in my heart was there. The physical arousal was there. The increased perspiration was there. However, I shut the down before they escalated even further.

Because I wanted to save humanity as a whole.

To save a group, you have to be objective and fair to each member of that group or population as possible. Now, I wasn't a proponent of killing of your emotions the way professional assassins and mercenaries do, since the human potential could only be transcended through a massive surge of emotion. Whether it's love, hate, anger, hope, all of it was what made us human.

All of it made humanity worth saving.

Balancing objectivity and subjectivity was key.

As such, even though I noticed her feelings towards me, and even though I might have a hand in developing those feelings, I could only cruelly reject her from my heart.

Every time our eyes met, she blushed heavily while I smiled at her. My human part wanted to further our relationship, to foster these feelings, to properly love her as a woman. But for the sake of my dreams, for that part of me that was still human and could still dream and desire, my Servant side took control.

I wanted to save her. From the possibility of becoming Roa's next host, from the Church's purging, from pain and disappointment. To do that, the things she desired from me most were what I couldn't give her at all cost.

I was disgusted by myself, sometimes.

The feelings I felt right now was more like admiring an incredible piece of art; the lust I felt was a possessiveness created from desiring to have that certain piece by any means necessary. The nervousness I experienced was simply for being in the presence of the piece's owner, for fear of tainting it, corrupting it, breaking it.

Of course, I had no such intentions.

If I was asked if I loved Elesia as a woman, I would say yes in a heartbeat. However, it was because I unconditionally loved humans, and the desire to protect her, care for her, love her... all came from that emotion. Compared to a normal human being, then yes, the adoration I had for her could be categorized as 'sexual love'.

Therefore, this was necessary.

After the desert and wine was served, I shifted my expression to a serious look.

Sensing the important matters at hand, the other three people in the room focused their attention on me. Nanako, on the other hand, looked sleepy after such an extravagant meal. I let her doze off, as her input wasn't necessary right now.

"So," I started with a calm tone, "I'd like to start with an apology."

Immediately continuing before they could interrupt, I said, "I used her school records, which should be confidential, without your permission or knowledge. It's a capital crime, therefore, I ask for your forgiveness." I already knew they wouldn't make much of a fuss, but getting everything out of your way first was a good plan.

As expected, they were flustered, and assurances from them came almost at the same time.

I waited for them to quiet down, before saying, "Elesia."

Her head perked up slightly, waiting for my good news.

"It's Sorbonne."

If there were a contest of synchronized squealing, this family would've won hands down. Both Elesia's parents couldn't even got a complete word out, all stuttering and spasming and hugging each other. Elesia was silent, her mouth ajar. Slowly, she covered it with both her hands, her eyes still in disbelief.

I pulled out several papers from under my robes. "I'll make quick and simple, then. This," I handed one to Elesia, "is the list of majors you can choose. These," I put the rest of the papers in front of Alain and Saya, "are the administrative papers, requirements, and boarding arrangement. Please consider them carefully, then ask me any question you have."

My heart raced slightly as I watched Elesia considered her options. If I was right, she'd chose 'that' subject...

"Um..." she called out to her parents, "I'm interested in these..."

'Not bad', 'promising', 'if you can' were the words I managed to catch from across the table. I didn't use Reinforcement on my hearing, mainly because it's pointless, and I wanted to grant them a sense of security.

After a few minutes, she turned towards me.

"I'd like to study Applied Mathematics, minoring in Theology."

Outwardly, I smiled, praising her for choosing well. Inwardly, I restrained myself from lashing out with my Black Keys.

It's absolute.

Elesia was Michael Roa Valdamjong.


	2. Autumn Memories

**Hello again, everyone! First of all, thank you for the reviews, follows, and favs! I really appreciate them. Your support is what led to this quick update. Now, time for the customary Q &A!**

 **Q'Fox: I agree on your assumption of power levels. What I meant in the previous chapter was Shirou's compatibility against the mentioned individuals, not outright strength. Since Fate/Apocrypha is lacking in material, I took liberal views regarding the power levels and compatibility. Sorry if it's unclear.**

 **Don't forget to read the main story, Fate New Rebellion by lioncousin (beta by me), right after this.**

 **P.S.: A little quiz! I put an original spell of mine in this chapter. Kudos for anyone that can guess the logic behind its wording, and the first winner gets a free question (including spoilers)!**

* * *

The cool air buffets against my face as I traverse the rooftops in the Capital. At this speed, one must close their eyes to avoid drying them out, but I Alter the air flow around me to prevent just that. Not only the temperature, but the Altered air also negates any sound I make from being heard more than one inch from my body.

The view is great. I haven't grown tired of this city yet; my wonderment only grows each passing day. The leaves in the park and around the streets have just yellowed and withering, creating a yellow-orange background against the fiery red and purple sunset. Much as I disdain the people that lived here, I have to admit, they did a good job with the city planning.

I'm not particularly looking for targets; it's more of a planned patrol, just me trying to get used to the flow of the city. As with any new environment I encountered during my life, I mapped the local leylines first, then the overall cityscape, trying to see if the builders of this city was magically aware. 'Aware' is a loose term, as local shamans are usually already capable to design the city life to be in tune with the environment, or in this case, the leylines.

After doing so, I noted the flow of people; the place where they congregate, the time they go to work and home, the points where the underground dwellers meet. Of course, I couldn't do this in a few days. This whole recoinassance process usually takes a few weeks to complete.

Today, I'm also out for a stroll. The grunt work has been done by my subordinates needs to be confirmed with my own eyes, as well. Not that I don't trust them, but in this conditions, there's no such things as being too careful.

Maybe it's time to move on the the second stage? The passive activities were done and dusted: information gathering, covert assassinations, networking, and so on. Now, I'll move more actively to take more control of the Capital. The problem is to utilize the leylines city-wide without being detected, but it's something I've done before.

* * *

The cool air blew across the wide cobbled road, swaying her frock lightly. Elesia hugged her trembling shoulders, regretting not putting on warmer clothes on the excuse of _"The sun's still out!"_ this morning.

' _Geez, this year's fall is really cold...'_

Fortunately, her new 'sister uniform' covered all extremeties, though it made running slightly more awkward. However, it's far too bland for her tastes, so she planned to ask Father Kotomine for permission to... 'modify' it.

After the announcement of her scholarship a few months ago in summer, Father decided to tutor her regarding her choice for her minor degree, which made sense. She chose 'Theology' with half a hope it'd happen that way, anyway.

Thinking about her new permanent teacher made her body warmer. It felt like a pleasant warmth from a spring's sunlight, travelling from her heart to her navel; a cozy feeling she never experienced before. When contemplating about it, only now did she berate herself for not noticing her own feelings earlier. _'I really_ _ **am**_ _a kid back then...'_

Of course, the path to serve God wasn't a supporter of marriage, with many priests and nuns choosing to live life in celibacy. She was worried that might be the case with Father Kotomine; he never deliberately forbid it, but he never supported the idea openly either.

' _Which means I still have a chance...'_

Serving at the church while harbouring such impure feelings was certainly a sin. But, accompanying the guilt she felt, was a sliver of pleasure from 'rebelling' against the rules. Perhaps it was puberty, or perhaps it was her own quirk, no one knew. Well, living together with said man for extended periods was probably the cause for her active imagination.

Back then, Father decided to have her start learning Theology both in theory and practice, therefore, currently, she lived with him. Alright, technically, she lived inside a church where they slept in different rooms every night, but a maiden could dream, right? If only that pesky kid wasn't around...

She liked Nanako, make no mistake. However, that girl kept on barging in on what Elesia privately determined as her private time together with Father, always 'accidentally'. After a while, it got annoying, and their relationship soured. Oh, not 'their' as in Elesia and Shirou Kotomine, but with Nanako instead.

Mainly, she thought the Father himself found their interactions amusing, much to her frustration. She longed for him to see her not as the village kid he taught a decade ago, but to look at her the way her parents looked at each other. Was that a sin? She couldn't muster the courage to ask him about it...

Now, though, she forced her mind to another matter to alleviate her mood. She's walking to her parent's house for their weekly dinner, and decided she'd rather enjoy the view inste-

' _Crap! I forgot the quiche!'_

Instantly, she turned around and ran back to the church to retrieve the French classic, made with the produce they harvested just this morning. Clicking her tongue at the oversight, she put strength into her legs to run faster, lest she be late for the dinner. Her parent's wouldn't mind waiting, but she'd be angry at herself for an avoidable mistake causing her to miss her mother's cooking.

Running around the back to the living quarters, she quickly opened the door and grabbed the dish. Now, hurr-

\- _Die-_ STATIC!

"Wah!"

Balancing herelf to avoid a fall, she exhaled a breath of relief. _'Ugh... what's that just now? ...I'm getting tired. I'll nap a bit at home, then.'_

With her task done, she hurried back to her home.

* * *

"Cute girl."

The voice echoed throughout the main hall, clear and bewitchingly seductive. If a normal person heard this voice, his or her heart would've been seized with unconditional trust immediately. The most frightening thing was it's completely natural, without the usual Prana-augmenting magi usually used or the phenomena-altering eyes of some magic users. Truly, a being possessing this voice must be inhuman.

In front of me sat the Black Princess.

Petite build, similar to a preteen. Elegant, frilly, mostly black dress extends to her knee, with feet covered in long socks. Thick raven hair that looked softer than silk, accompanied with ghastly pale skin that shone in the dark. She had a habit of wetting her alluring red lips when she spoke, sending many men into a flight of fantasy. As her tongue slid out and licked them, two large incisors could be seen among two rows of unnaturally perfect teeth.

Even now, already a few years into our partnership, we still measured each other like barbarians, wondering whether our skills and strengths could kill one or the other.

Standing on each walls to her sides were her two trusted servants, the Black Knight and White Knight. The former was professionally vigilant, while the latter was dozing off lightly while still keeping guard.

Instantly, both their killing intent was directed to me.

"Don't even think about it."

The one saying that was me.

Just now, as Elesia came through the back, Altrouge's crimson eyes tracked her movements through the walls... hungrily. My mind immediately responded with a threat, which, in hindsight, wasn't a really good idea.

All of us, not including the many servants she brought along with just for show, were gathered here to discuss the elimination of Michael Roa Valdamjong. That, by itself, could explain the Princess's hostility, but I detected something different. Something... primal.

I guessed, after we complete the ritual, she... desired Elesia.

As a servant? A doll? A slave? I didn't care.

Because I had decided to save her.

Now, fighting this ojou-sama alone was doable for me, because I was very compatible against her, or against any one of her Knights. However, all three together against me could only mean defeat. Despite knowing this, I still stood by my ground.

If I didn't, who will?

I'd seen plenty who abandoned their ideals in the face of adversity. Those that gave up because it's impossible. Those that were broken because it's tantalizingly possible, yet out of reach. Those that zealously chased it, only to be destroyed when they realized their dreams. To be honest, I almost became one of them before my death.

Therefore, I wouldn't give up now. No matter what.

"Stand down."

With a wave of her hand, that hypnotizing sound rang again. Because it's not Magecraft, I had difficulty ignoring it, but by this time I'd gotten used to it.

Both men returned to their post, a scowl on Strout's face.

Returning my focus towards Altrouge, I was surprised to see... amusement on her face. _'Argh, this girl was very wicked, after all...!'_

I cursed anyone that raised her in my heart. Sure as hell not Crimson Moon, since I heard he's just a quirky uncle (to those that knew him).

Massaging the bridge of my nose, I returned to our previous topic.

"How's the progress on the ritual?"

There's a disinterested look on that doll-like face of hers. "Smoothly. The container's also in place, so we'll be able to execute on-"

I raised my palm to stop her. "Don't tell me. We can't afford any leaks on my part, no matter how vigilant I am. Just tell me a few hours before the ritual will take place."

She nodded her head repeatedly in a mimicry of a sage. Not that it worked very well, but who was I to criticize? "Understood." She lightly hopped off the wooden bench, and walked closer to me. Held inside her hand was a device that looked like a palm mirror.

"This is what I promised before," she said while handing me the device, "for, you know... our _other_ deal."

She smiled sweetly and innocently, enough that I was almost fooled by it. Dangerous. This girl was really dangerous. Luckily, my countermeasure against her forces were going well, though I needed more time than I preferred. Of course, hopefully, my preparations would prove useless, but one couldn't prepare enough when dealing with someone like her.

Turning around, she made her way towards the main door, her skirt bouncing and fluttering in rhythm of her steps. Slightly behind her, Strout and Svelten followed suit. I could still feel the hatred radiating from Strout's back towards me, but I was calm. I felt numerous Dead Apostles left immediately from the Church's detection field, no doubt scrambling to prepare for their master's return journey.

Really, did these guys never heard of a telephone or electronic message?

That said, I knew of only Ortenrosse was capable of embracing modern technology, and he's one of the oldest among the Twenty-Seven. So it's not an age thing, I suppose, merely a mindset problem.

Relaxing myself, I called out to nothing in particular.

"Nanako."

"Yes, Master?"

At that moment, a strong gust of wind occurred inside the hall, exterminating the candles altogether. Of course, it's not a freak weather, but the wind was a spell of mine, cladding the hall in complete darkness.

Through the disparate streams of sunlight, two golden orbs met my orbs of steel.

"Initiate Phase Three."

"By your command."

* * *

\- Static.

"Ah, have you heard abou-"

\- _Beautiful_ -STATIC- _cause_ -STATIC.

"Hahaha! What an idio-"

\- STATIC- _kill her_ -STATIC- _all becau..._

"Hmm... it's possible that-"

\- STATIC! _Dangerous!_ STATIC! _I'll kill-!_ STATIC! _Kill-kill-kill-kill!_ STATIC!

"Dear! Are you alri-"

A crash. Something wooden. And then a loud smash. Something porcelain. Metal? This ringing...

\- Drip.

Someone's saying something...

\- Drip.

Being lifted... _'Me?'_ A feeling of floating.

"-ang in there! We'll ge-"

Wrong. Wrong. Wrong Wrong Wrong Wrong Wrong Wrong Wrong Wrong Wrong Wrong Wrong Wrong Wrong Wrong Wrong Wrong Wrong Wrong Wrong Wrong Wrong!

...

The headache disappeared?

...

' _Ah, I'm famished.'_

...

\- Squelch.

* * *

' _It's dark...'_

Elesia regained her conciousness.

' _Was it... Yeah, we're having dinner, right?'_ Suddenly, a wave of headache struck her again, making her wince. _'Did I collapse? Huh, I always complained of Father overworking... guess I can't do tha- HUH?!'_

She couldn't move.

Arms. Legs. Neck. Lips. Eyelids. Tongue. All of them were immobile.

No, other that that, she's... Everything's black.

It felt like what she imagined of going to space, only, in this instance, everything's pitch black. No stars, no planets, no meteors... It's black.

She's floating in black. Where was up? Down? She had no idea.

' _No...'_ Her mind began to panic.

However, she remembered Father Kotomine's teachings. Calm. When things didn't go to plan, all you need to do is calm down. Take in all information, process them. After that, decide.

Suddenly, a vision appeared in front of her.

Instinctively, she reached out with her hands towards that image.

Her hand felt something solid and flexible. _'A membrane?!'_

She pushed. She pulled. She clawed. She tore. All her previous calm dissipated like a sandcastle in the rain, replaced by the mad hope of escaping from this place.

What stopped her was the picture, no, the scene depicted by that membrane.

Her father, Alain. Her mother, Saya.

Their blood was everywhere.

On the dinner table. On the food. On the kitchen counter. On the floor.

On her hands.

...

She screamed.

Going by the previous analogy of 'outer space', in the back of her mind, she knew her voice wouldn't reach anywhere. Not even her own ears.

But she screamed.

\- Futile.

She screamed.

\- Useless.

She screamed.

 _[GET AWAY FROM THEM, YOU FUCK-!]_

"My, my. How lively."

She felt her body turning. No, she _willed_ her body to, since her sense of directions was gone. All of her mind was occupied with the person talking to her.

It felt like flying. Her body, no, her _existence_ was moving across the space to the direction of the voice. She felt something solid.

She hit.

She couldn't feel her hands. She didn't have the sensation of moving her arms, but she imagined it happening.

It's enough.

She hit again.

"Why are you hitting youself?" The voice calmly replied.

 _[YOU'RE NOT ME! LET ME OUT! I SWEAR, I'LL-]_

"What will you do?" The voice sounded amused.

Judging from the quality of the sound, the speaker was an adult, not exactly middle-aged. His accent... ah, yes, it's a male. His accent was smooth and cultured, a fluent French. Perhaps he's someone from the capital. Perhaps he's someone from abroad.

Didn't matter shit.

"What _can_ you do? Fufufu!" The voice laughed.

Elesia felt her body boiling. Before she could speak her mind, he continued, "I'm you. There's no changing that. Because it's been fifteen years...

"We're together for your entire life. Didn't you notice?"

 _[LIES! IT'S IMPOSSIBLE!]_

"Well, true or not, it's almost time."

The voice faded away.

 _[BASTERD! COME BACK HERE! YOU CU-!]_

"Goodbye. It's been fun!" Again, the maddening chuckle rang. "I'll take _really_ good care of you now..."

 _[NO!]_

A click. A lock.

 _[NO!]_

She could feel her consciousness fading again.

 _[No, please... Someone!]_

A face emerged in her mind. With all her will, she prayed.

 _[Father... Please, just... save them!]_

* * *

I ran with all my might.

Every single ward I placed around town was literally shouting.

' _Impossible! It's too early!'_

My heart inevitably raced at the anomaly. I prepared for this moment for a few years already, but the sudden occurrence still caught me off guard. Now, the time I'd use to berate myself was better allocated to thinking up countermeasures...

Michael Roa Valdamjong has risen.

However, my mind couldn't be further than him, because only a single person filled it.

Nanako was already in her modified form, a katana snugly placed on my back. From my detection wards, Altrouge was already on the move as well, seemingly more interested in this event than returning home. A few villagers already ran towards the village's security warning system, and a few minutes later, the alarm rang across the village.

Under the safety drill I created, every man, woman, and child was to evacuate and gather to the fields near the outskirts of the village. It's a location I chose based on its relative distance from the Church and Elesia's house, for safety. I could only hope they remembered their training, because I couldn't check on them right now, nor could I fight while protecting them.

Far too late, I arrived at the bakery.

Not surprisingly, there's still some curious villagers surrounding the barrier that suddenly erected itself around the bakery. It's a standard anti-Dead Apostle barrier used by the Church, though with my personal improvements on it. This situation was very unfavourable, since I'd like to avoid bad reputation for Elesia to the people. This way, successful or not with my plans, Elesia was most certainly despised by the people around here.

I guessed I better finish with a hypnotism-fest, then. Hopefully, there wouldn't be a purge by the Association or the Church, if I handled it right.

All of them turned their attention towards me as soon as I arrived. I meant, if you came over running visually as fast as a brand-new Jaguar XJ220, people were bound to notice. But, in the next instant, a wind chime rang.

It's a sound never before heard in this village, as it's an Eastern accessory. Its effect was immediate, as all their necks turned around to see a beautiful young man walking on the street, opposite from where I arrived. He wore a pristine, crisp three-piece suit, obviously a foreigner.

In a glance, all the gathered villagers fell to the ground, fast asleep.

With a nod, I thanked him. My gratitude was predictably ignored, as only a small portion of Altrouge's men were amiable to me. Rather than that, I had more important matter to address.

As always with these subjugation requests, it's eerily quiet inside the bakery. The lights were put out, only letting moonlight streams through the windows. I cursed internally for forgetting today's full moon.

She, or rather, he wasn't hiding.

Sitting on the couch, arms spread as if he owned the place. Alain and Saya's body parts were scattered on the floor. Their blood constituted the magic circles around me, all up the walls, floor, and ceiling. Not a single drop dirtied his clothes.

He was naked, only wearing a high-collared cape very typical in vampire movies. His face was serene, eyes closed and mouth in a soft smile. He inhaled slowly, savouring the scent of the massacre around us.

Finally, he spoke, "Why aren't you on guard?"

I assumed his question was about the multiple array of ritual circles all targeted at me. In reality, I wasn't really concerned about them.

With a clap, they disappeared from my sight.

I enjoyed seeing the shock on his face. Did he really assume I did no preparatory steps for all this time? I knew what's going on inside his head the first time I entered; the usual magus pride telling him he won already.

The problem was we're not inside his territory.

He's inside mine.

And that's his downfall.

Of course, I wouldn't go about and flaunt my advantage to him.

As if on cue, both of us moved.

Having lost his previously assumed advantage, it's natural for Roa to switch to his preferred fighting style, namely, combining the physicality of a Dead Apostle Ancestor with the Thaumaturgical knowledge of the founder of Burial Agency. With lightning speed, he cleared the distance between us in a flash.

Not that I was trying to create distance.

His eyes widened in shock for two reasons.

One, he definitely didn't expect an Executor, which he expected me to be one, to fight him head-on, without backup, after a display of magical superiority just now. This was within my calculations, since he's the one who came up with the orthodox tactics and drills of an Executor back when he's still human.

Predictable.

Two, his body suspended itself mid-air.

Already, his astonishing reflexes sent a lightning bolt towards the small array of Black Keys lodged underneath the carpet in front of the couch. His eyes showed annoyance, perhaps for falling to a trap so obvious and so soon after his set up was destroyed.

However, a slight pause was all I need.

A golden blade screamed through the air, aimed at his heart.

Nanako only tore through black mist. Before she completed her arc, a light bullet the size of a truck already shot towards the place he materialized, hitting a hastily-erected Faraday barrier. When the light died down, a nearby wall where he stood was blown out, leaving a giant hole in its place.

With the calmness of a predator, I walked out through the hole.

Tracing Roa's escape through the sparse woods surrounding the forest, I sighed with disappointment. I prepared for his arrival, and this combat, for many years, in anticipation of facing a powerful enemy comparable to other Servants. Instead, I found a half-baked vampire magus with a jerkass personality, taking over someone precious to me.

During our brief exchange, I had to try quite hard to shut my perception that I was fighting Elesia. However, in this lull period, the action only served to stoke the inferno in my heart. It's a disadvantage fighting with unrestrained emotions, I knew, but I decided to use this anger to power my strike, instead.

That said, even when weakened, his mind was still very keen.

Half a kilometer from the outskirts of the village, all obvious traces of him disappeared. Fortunately, I'd set up passive detection barriers, so minute and delicate even I had trouble detecting them sometimes, around this entire province. Taking advantage of the leylines I and Nanako had mapped, they're self-sustaining and very communicative over long distances.

Finally, we arrived at a small clearing.

Unlike last time, he's not waiting for me. In fact, my speed simply overtook him, while he's being slowed down by the multitude of traps surrounding each barrier.

I was worried about his premature revival, fearing for Elesia and her family. My worries proved correct, but his early birth proved costly: his combat capabilities were significantly reduced.

So, I had to finish this tonight.

I felt Altrouge's army scouring through the woods, a few hours behind us. Weirdly, they didn't go to the positions we'd agreed on beforehand, instead opting for a standard SAR formation.

Then, it dawned on me. Phase Three was still a few days from completion, so that option was out. I clicked my tongue in slight frustration.

Whatever the results, Michael Roa Valdamjong had a good possibility to escape tonight.

Phase One was the mapping of the terrain, and the study and prediction of Roa's reincarnation process. He's a magus that reached Akasha, and had knowledge about many spells from the Age of Gods with the skill to use it, so this stage was paramount to gain the basic advantage. A being like him, powerful enough to defeat Altrouge, which was an incredible feat, although her compatibility was bad against opponents like him, needed every precaution available to beat him at the heights of his power.

Phase Two was turning the area to whittle down his strength as much as possible. While the previous stage was executed by Altrouge's side, only I and Nanako were eligible to conduct this stage, since we're the executioners of the plan. Every barrier, traps, enhancements, and curses was created with my own Magecraft and Noble Phantasm in mind, along with Nanako's Prana consumption to function at her full power. With them, elements that Roa was weak against were installed as well.

Phase Three was completely exorcising Roa from Elesia's body and soul, trapping him inside a provided container, and finishing him off. The container was prepared by intercepting Roa's reincarnation path, so that he wouldn't just escape to the next body when we exorcised him. Surprisingly, there were plenty of ways to kill him for good, such as Nanako here, or the new spell Altrouge perfected.

Unfortunately, all those hard work was threatened to be for nothing now.

Inside me, I could only hope Altrouge would jump-start Phase Three, since she's the only one powerful enough to do it, and put the plan back on track.

All I could do now was try my best.

Arcs of lightning flew from all around me after I set foot a certain distance from the Ancestor. Before they could reach me, they fizzled out as they passed the Reverse Polarity Barrier nearby.

However, it turned out to be a feint, as two tigers leaped out of the shadows, crafted from what seemed to be black mud, intent on tearing my throat to pieces. I pumped Prana to my arms, activating my Noble Phantasm.

The tigers were coated in a frosty mist, stopping them dead in their tracks, while twenty blazing phoenixes the size of motorcycles flew towards the vampire, nimbly avoiding all obstacles in their path faster than my consciousness could follow.

"Dual Chant?!" A desperate voice rang out, before he enveloped himself in a spatial barrier.

Immediately, the ethereal avians reorganized themselves, flying in a wide tornado around me, before I Break them.

He appeared a few meters from his original position, which, unfortunately, wasn't far enough.

From an outsider's point of view, a sun has just exploded in the middle of the woods.

Of course, in the thick of it all, I'd regulated the amount of destruction to avoid damaging the wards I'd set up. They're durable, but not enough to defend against a B+-ranked Noble Phantasm spell used by the Third War's Caster.

That said, neither was Roa.

In the middle of a burnt wasteland, a charred torso was pulsating. I tried to put the name 'Elesia' out of my mind, but I wasn't too successful. Even so, Nanako sank smoothly into its center before my judgement could cloud any further.

On instinct, I leaped out to the side, utilizing Prana Burst that destroyed the arteries in my legs.

I saw the body lying on the ground disintegrate to ashes, swallowed by a vacuum created by a tear in space. In its place, half a man stood unsteadily, the entire left half of his body cleanly gone.

I could already see him regenerating at a frightening speed. Both our spells collide in the air, this time neither gaining an advantage, as I healed myself at the same time.

He tried to speak, but all that came out was a bestial groan from his exposed windpipe. Of course, I had no intention of waiting for him to safely regenerate, and swords made of light descended from the sky around him.

He tried to dodge out of the way, while his Magic Circuits were overloaded, but it wasn't an attack aimed to kill, anyway.

The swords never touched the ground, merely floating peacefully about two feet above it. As they set in place, an anti-vampire barrier, an A-ranked one, was activated, blasting him clear back to the middle of the array when he crossed their perimeter.

A golden beam pierced the middle of the twenty-eighth Ancestor, shot by Nanako behind him, already in her spirit form. It wasn't debilitating to his soul, but she damaged it enough for me to close the distance.

Both my arms flooded with Prana, my stigmas and Command Seals lighting up, I put one of my palm on his forehead, and the other on his navel.

' _Now, let's begin.'_ I prayed, _'Altrouge, you better work your cute butt off!'_

\- Let us pray.

 **The last is the first. Ten into one, one onto ten. May His Kingdom come, on earth as it is on heaven.**

 **The ninth built upon the tenth, as He feeds it, nurtures it, sates it, as the foundation of our growth.**

 **The eighth marks an obstacle of splendour. Submit yourself to it, do not be conquered by it.**

 **May you reach the plains of heaven on the seventh. Contemplate without end or limit, for eternity.**

 **Sixth is the adorned, glorious, beautiful, delightful throne of glory, the house of the world to come.**

 **What is the fifth? Fifth is the great fire of God, the flames of His severity, the left hand of God.**

 **What is the fourth? Fourth is the righteousness of God, His mercies and kindness, the right hand of God.**

 **The third is the quarry of the Holy Scripture, treasury of understanding, hewn out by the Holy Spirit.**

 **The second is wisdom, as is written, there is no 'beginning' but wisdom.**

 **The first is supreme crown, blessed be His name and His people.**

 **As such, ten comes to one, one returns to ten.**

 **Ha Kadosh, Barukh Hu.**

And let there be light.

* * *

Amidst silence, I contemplated the fight that occurred just now. On my lap rested Elesia, sound asleep, her body covered by my Holy Shroud.

I just messed up everything, hadn't I?

I had no idea if Phase Three worked... Heck, I didn't even know if it even started. All I could hope for was Altrouge's decision.

Reagarding the encounter, well, everything could be said to run according to plan.

Roa's specialty was lightning-based attacks. I didn't combat it like what magi usually do: use a superior concept to overrun his Magecraft in the casting stage. I merely casted many wards that disabled or countered the ensuing physical phenomena, in other words, I sealed his lightning as soon as it formed, not before. It's much more Prana-efficient, as lightning was basically a flowing current caused by two different electric potential, so I erased the difference of potential energy between the source and the target through various ways.

Nanako's timing was also perfect. It was planned from the beginning that if I missed the slash, or if Roa had countermeasures for it, she'd turn into her spirit form to distract him further for me to finish him off. However, the first stab I did revealed a possible development path for her weapon form. Maybe a ranged weapon would be better than a katana, though I was more comfortable wielding the latter. Roa's counterattack came much closer than I was comfortable with, so it's a food for thought.

Really, couldn't he revive with better timing? He even made me to resort to an untested spell I developed in parallel with Altrouge's specifically to destroy him. Now, with the container of Phase Three in unknown condition, it could be that his soul simply escaped to another body. Damn.

A presence closed in on us, silently. A few seconds later, a gorgeous gothic lolita appeared in front of me, a transparent orb in her hand.

Wait, the orb wasn't transparent. In the middle, the size of a golf ball, a tiny sphere of black and red was swirling around.

Okay. It's not supposed to be that small, when Roa's soul should've filled the watermelon-sized orb easily.

' _So we did fail, huh?'_

The Princess had a sad look on her face. But... no, it's fake! Fine, I'd play along, for now.

"Please, don't look so dejected," she said, making me raise one eyebrow.

"Phase Three succeeded."

I continued for her, "But?"

"He's a tricky one, that Serpent of Akasha." She looked upwards to the sky, saying, "He detected the container, and chose to split his soul into many of his containers. All I could take was only this much." She lifted the orb, showing me more clearly of its swirling center.

Her expression was solemn and caring, though I now could tell the difference when she's faking her emotions and when it's real. I felt a slight disgust at the performance, since my patience was running thin. However, losing control of my emotions now would do no one any good, so I bore with it. That said, I could sense a small sincerity form her voice, contrary to my expectations.

I asked, "Now what?"

Her eyes glinted with amusement. This time, it's genuine.

"It's Phase Four."

Annoyed, I closed my eyes, before saying coldly, "Elaborate."

"Well, if he had split his own soul into many containers, all we need to do now is hunt them all down, right? So, it should be a simple matter to you."

That's it. She said 'to you', which means she planned to employ me... no, enslave me for at least the near future, cleaning up after this mess. I didn't even doubt she had planned for Elesia taking part in this scheme, cementing the destruction of any hope of a normal life for her.

I took out my palm, where she gingerly placed the orb, a satisfied look on her face at my resignation. Even when I glared at her with killing intent, her smile only grew larger and more beautiful.

' _One of these days... one of these days...'_ I thought in my head.

"Where are the other guys?"

"Oh, them?" She looked around. "Eh... no idea. Maybe I'll get back before they throw a fit."

With a spring in her step, she walked off towards the distance.

When I felt her going outside my detection range, I let myself lean into a tree behind me, exhaling a big lump of air as I did so.

I relaxed my body, while letting my fingers comb through Elesia's hair. Her hair grew slightly after she became Roa, now reaching the middle of her back. I didn't know her preference for hair style, so I'd ask her when she woke up later. Closing my eyes, I decided against taking a nap, but instead to think of my future options.

My preparations for the next Grail War were pretty much done. There's nothing crucial I needed to do for it, so that's out. Regarding the Church... there's no sense in involving them any more than what was stricly necessary. Same with the Mage's Association and its other counterparts. The Yggdmillenia was making noises even now, but any direct move from my part would likely met with failure. That only left Phase Four, but that's not in the next few years yet, while Altrouge looking into potential containers of Roa for now.

Then, it's already certain on what I'd do, right?

Softly, i bent down and kissed Elesia's forehead.

"Sleep well, my dear Elesia. I'll protect you."

That's for damn sure.

* * *

 **How'd you all like it? Okay, I'm not a fussy guy regarding copyrights and such, but please at least include a shout out if you want to copy-and-paste it, got it?**

 **What are you waiting for? Hit that review box and heart icon!**


	3. Winter Memories

**Hello again, everyone! Thank you for staying with this story. Sadly, the amount of reviews and follows aren't to my liking, but I'll take it as a new challenge. Despite of that, I still want to thank all that took their time to write the review, or simply clicking the 'follow' and 'fav' button. Your supports are indispensable to me.**

 **Regardless, we actually have a winner for the previous quiz! It's (He? She?) Gashadokuro Amanojaku, in which the grand prize is an unrestricted question to me. Of course, this being a side story, it's not exactly spoiler-heavy, and thus I hope it's a good one. Gashadokuro also pointed out the missing line breaks, which I didn't notice for the first two chapters. Both of them are already updated, so check them out! I believe it makes the context easier to read, and apologies for those with strained eyes reading them.**

 **With that said, enjoy!**

* * *

"Not yet!"

I smile wryly at Yoru's charge. As per the norm, his attacks are both sloppy and ridiculously funny at the same time, at least to my eyes. However, laughing now will be detrimental for his growth, so I keep my emotions in check.

This is our second training session, merely a day after he passed out from overexertion. I was worried I would damage his development, but this boy has an incredible fortitude and hunger for strength. This combination will be deadly, if trained properly.

I dodge. Dodge, and dodge again.

I let the momentum of his own swing to trip him up. When he falls, I stand right in front of him and cheer (cough- _taunt_ -cough) for him not to give up. Then, for the following couple of hours, he waves his fist and legs around me, unable to connect even once.

Now, for the finishing bell.

I stick out my fist.

Right into the path of his face.

Really, all I did was put my closed fist there. His uncontrollable movements pivoted his face right to it, so it's not my fault.

Looking at his unconcious form for the second time, I clap for the servants to haul him back inside for treatment.

* * *

"Not yet!"

Missed.

"Again!"

Parried.

"Take this!"

Countered. Knock-out victory, for yours truly.

I sighed for not the first time today. Gently, I lifted Elesia's body from her face-down position into my lap, before feeding Prana to her body to accelerate her natural regeneration. I placed a nearby cool towel on her forehead, though it's wide enough to cover her eyes when she regained conciousness several seconds later.

Immediately, she reached to throw away the towel, but I firmly held her hand before she could do so. Her body tensed, as if she wanted to continue our pointless spar, but she relented in the end, her hand falling back to its original position.

I closed my eyes momentarily, enjoying the peace.

I wondered... how many months had it been for me to truly rest? For _us_ to truly rest...?

I looked at the young woman beneath me, her breath already calm and combat-ready. Tnankfully, she had the common sense to rest her mind when she needed to.

However, a few minutes later, she shot up, handing me back the towel without making eye contact with me.

"I'll... go take a shower."

"Mm."

I watched her walk away, a dull pain in my heart.

* * *

Elesia rested her forehead on the cold marble wall.

Her naked body, still exactly the same shape as it was almost a year ago, glistened with pure, cold water. Ideally, warm water was preferred to relax the muscles after training, but she simply couldn't care anymore. After a short period of intense training, her body had reached its peak, and was extremely difficult to improve, if not impossible.

The shower knob creaked in her hand as her frustration built up. Again.

' _Having a body and mind stuck in a set age ought to calm one's nerves down, right?'_ Even with such thoughts, she could feel her heart getting more and more easily agitated every day.

It's not because of a glitch in her system, or because of her environment. Simply, she wanted strength.

But she's not achieving it. Ever. Especially now.

Her hand balled into a fist, ready to smash the wall in front of her. But all that sounded was a small thud as her hand weakly came down again. On one hand, she'd like to avoid Shirou being forced to pay for the damage for the nth time these last few months.

On the other... she just realized how feeble her strength was.

That's probably why the nightmares never stopped.

Turning off the tap, she headed towards the tub, deciding to have some more time alone.

* * *

After wiping myself down with a wet cloth, I detected a well-concealed presence approaching behind me. It didn't contain any hostility, and the level of skill involved could only belong to one person.

When the presence neared me around three meters, I turned around to greet it.

"Good day, Narbareck."

The woman was quite pretty, but otherwise unremarkable. Unskilled witnesses would have trouble recalling her features, which was the intention of the person herself. Deliberately, she dressed to remove any distinctive impressions imposed on people by her appearance to succeed in her tasks. A true professional.

However, all of that was just a mask.

Her body was slim and toned, with her long hair partly covering her right eye. She wore the standard Church uniform, appearing as a simple nun. To the common Church members, or even the Executors, she was underwhelming as the person who stood at the top of the Burial Agency.

Only few knew the brutality and madness she possessed, and even fewer still were able to tell the tale.

The murdered nodded calmly. "Yes, good day to you to."

Others would've find the occasion which the first seat of the Burial Agency coming over personally to meet a humble priest to be ridiculous. She had enormous influence inside the Church, if only because of her fearsome strength, so many people avoided meeting her, causing her to usually communicates through passive means.

I knew, for a fact, she's very similar to Altrouge. Perhaps they'd hit it well together?

Those eyes of hers, when not emitting bloodlust, were always bored. This woman always looked forward to anything to play with, or to amuse herself. This time, it's Elesia she's interested in, in the guise of a recruitment for the Agency.

Mostly, she's just interested in Elesia's im mortality. She's the type that'd cut my student's body open just to see it heal, and do it over and over again until she's satisfied.

Of course, I had no intention on letting Elesia to go through that, but having a connection to Narbareck was also a plus. I just had to play the balance right, an act I was getting used to these last few decades.

As expected, she asked, "Ah, have you seen where Ciel-chan's been to? I wanted to talk to her about some stuff..." She trailed her speech near the end, in an attempt to sound innocent.

I simply frowned at the gesture, which made her giggle playfully. "I promise, I won't do anything harmful to her, permanent or not." She took out a folder, which had Elesia's name on it. "See? It's just a mission!"

"Since when did you become a courier?" I took the folder, perhaps too rudely for someone of my social standing, but I didn't care. I stuffed it inside my bag without taking out the contents, making Narbareck pout. Maybe she wanted to amuse herself on my reaction, but I liked to deny her the pleasure.

"Regardless, thank you for bringing this." I walked away after bowing my head slightly, saying, "I'll pass it on. Whether Elesia would accept it or not... I won't make any promises."

I could feel her making her best impression of a Cheshire grin behind my back.

* * *

I knocked lightly on the wooden door, before leting myself in before its owner gave her permission. It's a bit worrisome, this habit of Elesia's, since there's already quite a few times I walked in on her stark naked, which didn't cause any reactions from her. Clearly, it's not healthy, even if it's commonplace for people with similar levels of trauma.

Thankfully, she's fully clothed now.

She's laziily napping, her back facing me. I knew she's awake because of her insomniac problems, which I was desperate to cure. How could I claim to have saved her if she kept self-destructing every day?

I wanted her to be happy. I wanted her to be safe, to have the life she's always dreamed of, even if I couldn't be a part of it. Her existence right now was a fault in my ideals, one that tore my heart open every time I looked at her.

Slowly, I sat beside her head on the bed. For a few seconds, we stayed like that, just letting her to be comfortable with my company. She also developed some severe mood swings lately, and it didn't do any good for me or my bank account.

I stroked her hair slowly, trying to coax her to face me. Alas, it seemed she had no such intentions, though her body relaxed and heated up by my touch. Partly, I was quite happy she still accepted me after all she's been through, instead of blaming me for everything.

I traced the nape of her neck with the tips of my fingers through her damp hair, causing her to jolt at the ticklish sensation. She turned around, in her best imitation of her mother's scolding face, although with her youthful complexion it just looked adorable to me.

"Sorry," I softly said, then showed her the folder I was given. "I'll just put this here, if you like."

I put it on her bedside dresser, and she gave it a fleeting look, disinterested.

Looking back at me, she said, "Maybe later."

I fully understood. Rest was a paramount side to training, and she's been throwing her body into it with Narbareck-like intensity. Perhaps she thought it's fine because she had an indestructible body, but I still didn't approve of it. Not that she listened to me much these days, anyway. God, I missed those days when she'd follow me around like a puppy...

To my surprise, her next action was to put her head on my lap.

She curled her body like a kitten, signalling me that escape was impossible. I let out a small chuckle, before hefting myself into a more comfortable sitting position on the bed. I softly patted her head and stroked her hair like before, but now with more care and warmth, causing her to smile cutely.

Gently, I pulled the covers onto her body, since it's getting quite breezy lately, even if we're in southern France at midday. She leaned her body slightly more towards me, as if looking for more warmth, so I used my other hand to gingerly wrap her shoulder.

At times like this, I gave my prayers and worship to Him.

It's at times like this that I'd cherish, with anyone...

But especially her.

* * *

We walked in the middle of the road, lightly sweating due to the blazing afternoon tropical heat. To be honest, we could've used Magecraft to cool and ventilate the air around us, but looking like a magazine model in this temperature would only draw unwanted attention to us.

Elesia showed flashes of disgust every now and then towards the atrocious living conditions displayed in this place, but she clamped it down marvellously, making me feel proud of her growing emotional control. However, I couldn't really fault her desire to lash out, because even I felt revolted at the scene around me.

We were in a part of the Favelas, one that was gifted to a family of magi for their 'outstanding services' to the local underground lord. As a result, the people in this area lived their lives similar to livestock.

Beside us, laid rows after rows of houses made from spare parts, like pieces of timber, plastic, fiber, and so on. No, calling these things 'houses' was generous in itself. To be honest, they looked like 'stables', filled to the brim with dying children, drugged up adults, and decomposing elders. The stench of excrement and rotten meat filled the air, causing Elesia to cast a air-purifying barrier around us. Using Magecraft in front of so many people was dangerous, but both of us just wanted to get this mission over with.

Every now and then, our footsteps changed into squelching sounds as we stepped on some scattered... things. My dear student was fuming at this point, leaving me to operate the discrete detection field spanning a kilometer from our position. It's one of the Magecraft I learned from Roa's memories embedded in Elesia's soul, and since she detested using them, it's up to me to use that library of knowledge to maximum.

So far, so good. We avoided plenty of traps thanks to the barrier, because of its incredible neutrality and delicacy not setting off any of them, and we smoothly walked nearer and nearer to the target's dwelling.

Finally, we reached a large, permanent barrier we couldn't get around with. Therefore, I casted a fake Presence Concealment on us, while also signalling Elesia to erase her presence to maximize the spell's effect. It should get us through any detection field, though now we're blind to any traps laying around, for I couldn't cast my barrier without being detected in return. So, we relied on old-fashioned Executor techniques, ironically also codified by Roa himself.

Well, calling them old-fashioned wasn't really correct, as the Church didn't possess the 'old-is-better' mentality of the Mage's Association, and there were useful new techniques invented almost every other month by various different agents. But we still held on to the doctrine created by Roa and the first Narbareck, since it's just that efficient in dealing with various situations.

Silently, we traversed the terrain, intent on capturing the piece of Roa's soul that managed to latch itself to this family's heir.

Unfortunately, they were waiting for us.

Fortunately, we could defeat them with one hand tied behind our backs.

In front of us was the entirety of the magi family's fighting force. Various golems, roughly constructed from pieces of high-grade and precious metals, guarded the outer circle. A variety of familiars in the forms of grotesque chimeras was the second layer of defense, with some of them hovering in the air. In the middle, the core family members stood in formation, the father, mother, and two siblings.

Come on! We're just here to talk!

"We come in peace," I said, quoting the famous line. I took out an envelop, raising my hand to capture their attention. "This is an introductory letter from the Pope himself."

I had hoped they wouldn't be those fanatics that dismissed everything I tried to say, and it seemed God answered my prayers. Sluggishly, one of the golems stepped forward, and with some difficulty, picked the thin piece of paper for its master.

In the envelop, there really was an actual letter handwritten by the Pope himself, telling the situation with Roa, and declaring any actions taken in regards to the vampire's extermination as top priority. It's protected against physical destruction, though if the reader decides on a forceful denial, it's rigged with an undetectable high-powered explosives.

' _Your move,'_ I thought regarding the family in front of me.

* * *

Currently, I was staring at the wall of our room, inside the rented inn outside the Favelas, deep in thought. We were sent here by Altrouge's tip-off, which could cause a massive catastrophe if Narbareck or the Mage's Association found out about her involvement. Instead, we pretended the information was from my personal network, with the cooperation of some Magic Users and Freelancers from the Association. Tough work, but this took precedence.

The other reason I was staring at the wall was because of the noise of changing clothes behind me.

Now, I was a normal man, and I had nothing against a willing woman naked in front of me. However, Elesia had slotted herself to a position in my mind that was labeled 'Hands-Off', for reasons unknown even to me.

Perhaps I was getting fond of her? She was a protegee of mine of some sort, and maybe I felt responsible to her parents to raise them in their stead, after manipulating them subtly for the best part of a decade.

Ugh... no, analyzing emotions would just be a waste of time. If my heart was reluctant, then so be it. It's better for me if I didn't have anything bottled up too long, so I decided to go along with my mind's whim for this thing.

The difficult thng was... it seemed like she's doing it on purpose.

First, she rejected the idea of a separate rooms, on the cause of operating efficiency, even though I said I'd have Nanako bunk with her. Next, she's blatantly changing only in front of me, not when I was out doing recoinnassance. And then there was her attempt of communal bathing...

I did know of her feelings for me, make no mistake. Just... I felt guilty for not being able to respond to that feelings. The guilt was, for most times, pushed to the recess of my mind when I was doing my work or preparing for it, but in our personal times together it always came to the surface.

I guess we'd have to talk about this, soon.

I felt a pressure on the side of my bed, and, to my concern, there was Elesia, sitting far too close for where a woman her age should be. The scent of her body soap filled my nose, which was pleasant no matter how many times I smelled it. However, her expression was grim, unlike the happy one I was used to.

She bit her lip, trying to find the words to express her thoughts in a coherent manner. To calm her down, I patted her head, surprising her, but her hesitation was replaced by a calm smile, one I returned.

"Now, what is it?" I asked patiently.

She sighed. "Why aren't we hunting them instead?"

' _Ah. So that's the issue...'_

The 'them' in her sentence referred to the magi family, whose work was witnessed by her first hand. I knew her thoughts well on this subject, and her decision.

She continued, "Shirou, do you remember our time back in the village?" Sadness clouded her eyes in reminiscence of her parents, but her voice remained steady. "You preached about God's work... His judgement, and what we have to do to emulate Him, right? So... so why are we letting them do these things?!"

Her voice became more strained and desperate near the end, mirroring her tumultous emotions. Her hands turned into fists, balling up the sheets.

I calmly replied, "We are letting them _for now_ , Elesia. Believe me, all available efforts are being spent to rid those... swines from the world of the living, so that they won't harm innocents anymore." I put my hands on her shoulders, straightening up her body. "Please, bear with it a while longer. I promise."

Her face lit up with determination. "When the time comes... will you let me participate? If you forbid me from killing, it's fine...! I just want to save them, the same way you did to me..."

Ah, how was I blessed with such a good child?

I pulled her into a hug, soothing her by stroking her back. I expected her to start crying, but her trembling calmed down after just a few moments. Then, because we would be travelling back the very next day, I told her to get some rest.

In her own bed, of course.

* * *

I was inside a dragon's den. Both figuratively and literally.

To be precise, I was in a nondescript room located in a corner of Vatican. The furnishings were bare, even for a professional's office, though it's well-maintained. The dim lighting made no improvements to the mood, and, in hindsight, perhaps it was deliberately set up that way.

The office of the strongest person of the Church, Narbareck.

The person in question was humming happily, seemingly able to sense my intentions.

To be honest, this wasn't the path I'd prefer to take, but the promise with Elesia couldn't be forfeited, so here I am.

Actions against magi, and the Association as a whole, were discouraged between Church members. It's logical, since two superpowers entering an all-out slugfest would only result in a calamity none could afford. However, there were plenty of occasions when Enforcers and Executors worked together to eliminate targets, or assigned each other with their own tasks to avoid unwanted involvement in the missions.

These cooperations were set in place by the leaders from two generations before Narbareck and Lorelei Barthomeloi, to combat the increasing investigative powers of the general masses against Thaumaturgy and the supernatural world in general. Now, any actions against a stray magus, or to recover a holy artifact, or a Dead Apostle hunt and such requires the explicit permission from both the head of Executors and Enforcers, who were the two ladies mentioned before, respectively.

What I was trying to do now was to buy such permissions to act freely against potential targets.

And I'd buy it by selling off Elesia.

"She's interested in your offer, Narbareck," I started, hoping not to give the devil in front of me much negotiating power.

She smiled. "Great! Ah, I have to thank you for persuading her, Father Kotomine." She spoke more formally this time, signifying her desire to poach Elesia from me. "We've always short-handed, you see, with all the recent Apostles activities..."

Her speech went on 'business mode', as I called it, to the topic of general life in the Church, its missions, our supposed targets, and other rubbish. I always felt having a 'business mode' so different from her normal persona actually discouraged people from working together with her, as they would feel a sense of dissonance that's more than just 'uncomfortable'. To me, the exact word I'd use was 'revolting'.

So, to pass my time, I chose to study her minute physical signs. These were the mannerisms that, combined with psychology, always told me what the other party was thinking. It had varying degrees of success, depending on how good the opponent in conversation and diplomacy, but this woman was good at neither.

What she's good at, however, was masking her killing intent, therefore, I paid special attention to this area as I indulged her in idle chat.

In the end, we decided on using 'Ciel', Narbareck's nickname for my pupil, as her field name. Her designation in the Burial Agency was 'Bow', after an interesting philosophical debate, one I admittedly wasn't paying as much attention as necessary.

However, my goal in meeting her bore fruit.

Elesia's condition on being pawned off like this was that she could liberate all those people suppressed unjustly and cruelly by various magi around the world. To do so, Narbareck had agreed to discreetly 'leak' information to the public regarding some suspicious Thaumaturgical activity, thus putting the magi into the Association's crosshairs as potential elimination target.

Then, under the disguise of 'mutual cooperation', Elesia would move in and remove the tormentors. I decided against accompanying her for most of these trips, because operating independently was a must to let her grow to another level. Of course, I'd still be supervising her, and I would assist her if I felt the opponent was too dangerous, but the list of magi we'd studied wasn't the calibre she couldn't handle herself.

Regarding her training, I managed to persuade her to use Roa's incredibly diverse knowledge and skill of Magecraft. Naturally, she refused at first, but I convinced her that using his Magecraft for good would atone for his sins, and that if she really wanted to save them, she shouldn't be picky about the way she did it. Having an arsenal of powerful Magecraft and other combat abilities would greatly enhance her probability of success.

At this point, I was wondering if I was trying to groom a modern day Heroic Spirit.

' _Well, what could go wrong with that?'_

* * *

Her body felt light, as she traversed the tree canopy beneath the moonlight.

At first, Elesia was horrified at the changes to her body. How could she not, when she was told she was immortal, all while watching her own still-beating heart cut out from her body and displayed in front of her? How could she not, when all she could think of when being together with the man she loved was how good his blood would taste? How could she not, when the darkness no longer conceal her fears, instead parading them as clear as daylight?

An then the nightmares began.

 _\- Drip._

 _\- Drip. Drip._

 _\- Splash. Squelch._

 _My hands are red._

 _The red... is everywhere. The walls, the floor, above me, behind me, all over me._

 _Where is it from?_

 _Why... am I alone...?_

 _A hand grabbed my neck from behind. I can't breathe. A torso hugged my legs. I can't run. I close my eyes. I don't want to see, I don't want to feel..._

 _I can't move._

 _Who are touching me?_

 _I open my eyes, daring anyone to show themselves in front of me. I'm not scared. I'm brave. Because God will-_

 _Father. His face is destroyed. His lower jaw is gone, the upper one is coming down towards my face._

 _Mother. I can see the tip of her vertebrae, where her head used to attach itself. The piece I see is without legs, the torso clinging itself to my legs._

 _How did you two become like that? I don't understand... Why are you all doing this?!_

 _..._

 _Ah, it's all my doing, isn't it?_

 _Father's teeth sank in, as my legs snap inside Mother's embrace._

She screamed. She hurled glasses. She crushed walls. She did everything, anything to take the pain away. She prayed to God to relieve her of her sins. She cursed God for not protecting her parents. She sang to God, in hope He would grant her release. She blamed God for His curse of immortality, to shoulder her sins forever.

In the end, she was tired. Her mind was ragged by the constant sleepless nights, and by day she poured her soul into training, with only revenge filled her mind. She gained new compatriots, lost some old ones, but she casted them all aside. Their words to her only met deaf ears, her eyes never strayed from the ultimate goal.

However, only one person stood by her side.

She heard the stories, though Shirou never outright told her what he did. They told her he risked his life, and Nanako's, to save her from Roa's wicked grip. She never doubted a word they said, merely placing her faith in the only remaining person she could place it on.

Because she had no one else.

Admittedly, she felt livid when he confessed on having manipulated and targeted her from the started. His actions had endangered her family and the entire village, simply because he was using this event as a bargaining chip to some powerful vampire. She even hit him with all of her new-found strength, which surprised even herself.

Through all that, he never flinched. He didn't tell a single lie or excuse, merely stating the fact. He took all her anger on the chin, without even a single retort. At that moment, she felt that even death by her hands, as his atonement, would've been accepted with no repercussions.

He did all of that for her, and her alone.

Only after rampaging in a forest for a few days, razing everything to the ground, did she realize something.

No matter how angry she was, no matter how obsessed with vengeance she was, no matter how blinded she was because of rage, she could never stop loving him. Even if she told herself that his affections had been a lie, her love certainly wasn't.

He accompanied her silently to her parent's burial. It's a discreet affair, after erasing the villagers' memory of the incident, including of her and her family, in a private graveyard. She cried her heart out, hands and knees buried in the grass, yelling and screaming at everything.

Only Shirou stayed by her side, when no one else attended.

She remembered not much of anything afterwards, as if the rest of the day passed in a dream.

When she voiced out her intention to kill Roa, he trained her. To be honest, it was hell. But she endured.

Training her body was easy. Because she held a piece of Roa's soul, as long as the other pieces still exist, the World would correct any damage to her because, to it, 'Roa is still alive'. She pushed beyond the limit of her stamina, knowing that she would only get stronger after that.

The difficult part was to adapt to a magus's mindset for her to be able to use Magecraft.

She loathed her ability to cast, knowing that much of it came from her parent's murderer. Shirou told her she was wrong, that because she had so much potential, Roa chose her in the first place, not the other way around. Still, having any part of that bastard inside her caused extreme disgust for herself. This thoughts hampered her will to learn Magecraft.

Only when Shirou pointed out that killing the vampire with his own prided Magecraft would be the greatest irony and insult to him, that she decided to master all the tools in her disposal.

All of that effort to kill one man, some say. They had no idea.

This was now the reason for her existence.

If she achieved it, only then would she look for something else to live for. But, until then, no other thoughts could distract her.

...

In front of her was a moonlit caslte.

Different from the unmatched beauty and elegance of the Millenium Castle (or she was told), it was a decrepit stone fortress. The design itself harked back to the Middle Ages, but all amenities of living was absent. The quality of the building itself was still surprisingly well-maintained, no doubt due to the enchanments casted by its current owner.

She was here due to a test set by the head of Burial Agency for her ascension to its ranks. Being a member of Burial Agency granted a massive amount of political weight, and one such amount she dearly needed. She didn't want to piggyback Shirou all his life, of course, so she strived to be more independent.

Not so independent that their relationship would strain, mind you. Even a girl like her still had her hopes.

Kill Louvre, the budding Dead Apostle, and his entire coven.

* * *

A teasing voice made me stare over my drink.

"Worried?"

Deciding against a prolonged debate, I just answered with a grunt.

"Oh? Isn't she your precious protegee?" The voice sang, amused. "Fufufu, if it was me, I'd take _very_ good care of her... you know?"

I sighed, ignoring her last comment. "Let's get finished. I have somewhere else to be."

Altrouge's bewitching face pouted. "Muu... You're always not fun."

Even so, she clapped her hands, summoning one of her servants. He carried with him a solid metal briefcase, which he laid gingerly down the table. I reached out to open the case, only to pull my hands back as the Black Princess snatched it and held it to her bosom.

"Fuuhh... before I hand this over, how's the hunt going?"

"Well enough," I replied, choosing not to debate any further. "If you don't have any more targets, we should be about 80% done."

She clapped her hands excitedly. "Marvelous, marvelous! I'm glad that both of you are a good investments, Father!" She giggled like a little girl, though to my ears it was very offsetting.

When she stopped, she handed the case over to me.

Inside, there were three things.

One, a rolled parchment. Two, a piece of hardened soil with traces of vegetation. Three, a stack of thin plates of jade full of carvings.

All three were extremely valuable items, and all of them were one of a kind in the world.

The parchment contained the contract between myself and Altrouge, made from an Indian divine bull's skin. It also functioned as a trading passport, allowing me to secure materials through channels undetected by anyone, especially the Church and the Mage's Association.

The soil was the catalyst I would use in the following Grail War. It was chosen by Altrouge's Divination, to find a powerful Servant most compatible with me, avoiding the drawbacks of using a specific catalyst. She decided not to tell me about the Servant's identity, though, likely just for fun.

The beautiful pieces of jade were controlling devices for the Masters. They contained powerful, but delicate enchantments, putting the Masters under my control without their Servants noticing, save for perhaps Caster. They eased transfers of Command Seals as well, removing the need to do spiritual surgery to transplant them.

The underlying infrastructure to utilize these three objects to their optimum was managed by me. I kept outsourcing to a minimum, since breaking even with more stakeholders on board my plans would be a major headache. One of the few I allowed to know my general plans were Altrouge and Risei Kotomine, though Narbareck was pushing to increase her grip on me.

Satisfied, I secured the case and turned my attention to the holographic screen on our side.

Its size neared those home theatres so popular nowadays, projected from a couple of gemstones on its base. Most crucially for me, though, was the scene it showed.

Originally, it showed an expanse of dark green, reflected by the canopy from the moonlight. After our short discussion, a circle of wasteland appeared on the center of the area shown. The trees in that circle wasn't burned down or cut off, but was simply destroyed by superior physical forces.

Standing tall in the middle of it was Elesia, her Church uniform spotless.

I unconciously smiled with pride, with Altrouge's eyes also shining with excitement.

Due to her immortal body, Elesia tended to dislike dodging. There's nothing abnormal in that line of thinking, as she was once a normal human. Humanity, from the beginning of their creation, were very good at using any advantages they had, but they then relied on it too much, creating a lull in regard of innovation.

However, I had drilled into her the various options that dodging and parrying brought to one's combat style. For example, an unblockable hit wouldn't be able to finish her off, but the opponent would've ample time to reset their stances when she recovered. Dodging with minimal movements, and parrying on the exact moments, would enable her to counter immediately afterwards, without the time expense required to resurrect herself.

It took a lot of time to reprogram her muscle memory, but the result paid off, as relayed on the screen.

Normally, I couldn't judge fairly from the state of her clothes. Her regeneration was the 'rewounding' of the cause, and as such traces of blood and damaged clothes would also be restored to their original state. This time around I had properly watched her from beginning to end, and having an extra witness beside me confirmed her dominance over her opponents, so much so that they couldn't scratch her even once.

The nearby lake poured its contents to the newly created crater, burying the remains of the family of Dead Apostles underneath it. Elesia leaped twice, clearing the width of the crater, before heading back to her temporary base.

Even if the fight had been so one-sided, I had to applaud Louvre and his children. The elder had the caution and cunning so lacking in his peers, creating a near-unbreachable fortress of Magecraft for normal hunters. Additionally, his children, bearing the same name as him, possessed the Resonance effect which amplifies their power in proportion to their proximity. Together, I reckoned they might edge out Lorelei Barthomeloi, making Elesia's prowess stood out even more.

Altrouge's eyes were shining with dangerous light, so I excused myself to congratulate my new pupil.

* * *

I returned to an apartment Elesia selected as her temporary home.

On the journey back, my mind was plagued with newfound problems.

The preparations for the Grail War were proceeding smoothly. The task of eliminating Roa completely was also close to completion. Then, a thought occurred to me.

What then?

Instantly, all these years of preparations floated to my mind, including the woman who's been most important to me lately.

Was getting too attached a mistake? Looking at it objectively, the answer wasn't clear. I recognized the need to socialize and build relationships to be beneficial to my own mental capacity, therefore I went out and created them.

But now, it's hard to say goodbye.

I recalled Elesia's face when we met for the first time. Back then, she was slightly out of sorts with her peers, and wasn't too welcoming to strangers. During the first few years, though, she glued herself to me, seemingly in innocent adoration. Then, in the midst of her puberty, I noticed her developing more mature feelings for me. I was certain it was just a fleeting love back then, nothing very serious, just a small crush.

But then Roa came along, and everything changed.

She matured so much in just these two years, growing into a splendid woman any man would gladly gave their genitals away for. Physically, she stayed the same, but being so close to her, I was the only person who witnessed her emotional and mental growth at the time.

What I saw captivated me. Her happiness, her sadness, her anger, her frustration, her excitement, her passion... I saw it all first hand.

No, perhaps one could say it's 'love'.

Similar to someone's passion for cooking, or their love for their family members, or the moment one fell in love with the object of his dreams. It's not sexual love, but it was very, very close.

And I realized it far too late to back out.

Now, the question was... should I let her come with me?

I initially disliked the idea. I admitted to feeling a sense of responsibility to her parents, and so I abhorred bringing her to unnecessary danger. She's powerful, yes, but the Grail War was another set of catastrophe waiting to happen altogether. My affections for her also made it hard to see her hurt, no matter how powerful her regeneration was.

But, at the same time, I also yearned for her company. She provided me with a certain... warmth, so to say, that was missing for so long in me. It's a gentle flame that burned when I was together with my previous comrades, fighting for freedom in feudal Japan at the time, or during our drinks together. The person coming close to that specific spot in my heart was Nanako, but that's due to a dfferent matter entirely.

Perhaps in the future I would be able to have such splendid companions like Elesia. Perhaps not, since people with such quality was rare. In any case, my mind hesitated at the idea of leaving her behind just like that.

' _Ah, well, there's no sense in worrying about it now.'_

As always, I entered her room after I knocked, but without her voicing her approval. It's become a habit these days, and she said it symbolized her faith in me, which helped my guilt no favors whatsoever.

Elesia was still in her Executor garb when I came in, but she held a piece of paper in her hands. Her face bore a complex expression, from surprise, elation, excitement, hopeful, to a small bit of fright and disbelief. Her shoulders were trembling slightly as well, which worried me.

Did she injure herself? No, that's ridiculous. It had to be the contents of the letter. What could be so earth-shattering to cause her to act like this?

In my confusion, she leapt to me. It's so quick that I'd have trouble dodging it from my blind spot in our sparring sessions, so in the midst of my mental weakness, it's natural that I was slow to react.

Her lips overlapped with mine.

...

For a moment, I was enjoying the supreme softness of her moist lips. With all my abilities, this body of mine was still of a man's, and I was certainly lacking in some... physical intimacy in this decade. The sensation, combined with my surprise, made me fail to reject her.

However, before I could do so, her body jerked away.

Her face was incredibly scarlet, and she jumped back while blubbering incomprehensible words.

"A-AH! SHIROU! This... This isn't- I mean... I didn't... wawawawawahhh...!"

Her words might be inconclusive, but her action was paramount to the solution to my dilemma just now.

I stepped forward, and more gingerly than she did, kissed her back.

' _Well, as they say... to hell with it.'_


	4. Spring Memories

**First of all, Happy New Year!**

 **Wow, it's been far too long for my liking. So, I'll start with an apology to you guys. Finals and holidays have taken it's fair share of time, so this chapter was kind of stuck at three-quarters completion. Anyway, I'd like to thank you for staying this far, for the follows and favorites, since this is the second last chapter. Yes, you read that right. The Epilogue will follow this, and after that's finished I'll focus on my beta work and some new projects. Look forward to it!**

* * *

I must admit, I am impressed.

Watching my new student, Spear, swings her namesake weapon at me is very educating. Even though she never managed to come close to hitting me, the fact that she still tries so hard after I countered her many times before is a monument to her will to fight and improve.

She claimed she learned her skills from a temple sponsored by the Empire. It's not exactly a great promotional name in my book, but she's adamant that regardless of the Empire's rotten core, the spearwork she studied is solid.

She's right.

The Imperial Fist style of martial arts focuses its foundations on actual combat warfare, since it was invented during the time of the First Emperor, a known military and technological genius famed for his conquest. The core techniques didn't dilute even after so many generations of emperors, and I just found out that the temple is actually distant, in political stance, to the Empire.

The temple teaches a variety of people from various backgrounds, so much so that most of the military, personal security guards, and the second or third child have been studying under them. Its popularity is easy to see, with Spear's ability being even better than my comrades when I was still human.

Of course, it means nothing against me, but it's a nice thought.

Focusing my attention back on her, I ready my stance.

I hope I don't have to heal her as much as Yoru...

* * *

I must admit, I was impressed.

I had expected Elesia to soften down, to mellow slightly after I decided to advance our relationship for several reasons.

But no.

We're now in our usual sparring session. Now, almost a year and a half since her parents passed away, her strength was already comparable to Roa. Now, I hadn't personally faced him, mind you, since when he possessed Elesia, he couldn't access his full abilities because he hadn't had the time to absorb it from Akasha. Naturally, I asked someone else who had known his full strength.

Altrouge wasn't happy to see another person who could match her strength, or even beat her, but her adoration for Elesia curbed it somewhat. I just wished she'd stop looking at my current fiancee like a new shounen robot a six year-old boy would drool over.

This session had to be located somewhere wider, flatter, and much less populated place than the Church's courtyard. I had to say... it felt good to let loose with my whole strength after a while, and not have to worry about hurting your opponent.

I had said Elesia was talented before, but it turned out to be quite an understatement.

She... How should I say this? She had the talent to be an actual Heroic Spirit, had she was born a millenia before when Akasha was still generous handing out invitation to the Throne of Heroes. That said, she could even make it now, but current secrecy agreement between the Moonlit World major organizations prevented famous acts of heroism for a Magic User to be famously known.

She furiously absorbed and learned Roa's Magecraft almost religiously, while training her close combat abilities with me and Altrouge's two Knights. It seemed that the more things quiet down, my student got rather antsy, and slaved herself to be even stronger.

I was grateful for the Second Seat of the Agency to provide this place along with the self-rewounding Bounded Field, achieved by utilizing his own Holy Scripture rather... creatively. It's certainly a useful ability, since the surrounding scenery had been replaced by what movie directors would call a 'nuclear holocaust' scene. Such was Elesia's improvement that I had to go all-out to come on top.

Almost in sync, we halted our session for a rest.

Before I could get a word in, Elesia shouted from a distance, "I'll get the lunch in a moment!"

With a spring in her step, she moved towards the temporary castle the Second Seat lent us to use. Rather _too_ excitedly, if I might add.

Back when I decided on the status of our relationship, honestly, a thought of 'what-the-heck-have-I-done' echoed repeatedly and loudly inside my mind. Being Servant Ruler in disguise, the most basic thing I had to prioritize was secrecy. Having a relationship, a romantic one at that, no matter how false, was naturally the counterintuitive thing to do.

Other than potential leaks or misuse of information, leaving an anchor in the form of commitment to another person was sure to be a burden, at least in my mind. One more person to protect during my tasks meant one less part of my mind could be dedicated to solving those tasks. Plus, a commitment also meant unnecessary responsibilities, both physical and emotional.

In hindsight, the decision might have been an objectively poor one.

Subjectively, however, this relationship with Elesia had been of great enjoyment to me. I didn't derive any romantic pleasures from it, but I adored her company. Her presence, being one of those I had successfully 'saved', was soothing, allowing me a platform to fall back on. Plus, she had improved on her mother's cooking skill, so my stomach vetoed a part of my brain in decision-making.

Closer than ever before, I noticed how her personality had blossomed beautifully from the teenager I knew. All her actions, especially on important decisions, now came with a healthy amount of planning and iterations. Amazingly, she had been able to blend her professional attitude separate from her private moments incredibly well. She didn't develop a separate personality to cope with the stress, like most in this line of duty, but instead mixes both personas in various environments as much as needed.

Almost all psychology experts would claim this method was dangerous and volatile, for allowing work-related matters into personal life and vice-versa, but I digressed. The professional coldness was paramount to calming oneself down during a heated personal argument, for instance, and the flaming emotional side would push one's abilities even further in the field, beyond what was expected. So, there's plenty of advantages in this method.

Truly, watching her grew was an event. I imagined my feelings to be similar to those inventors when their masterpiece was perfected, or those parents when their children matured into a healthy, successful, upstanding adult. This feeling, combined with my adoration for her, made me able to love her even more.

Sadly, no matter how hard I tried to love her as a woman, in order to truly made Elesia happy, I just couldn't take that single step further.

Much quicker than expected, my new fiancee returned with a big basket in her hands, snapping me out of my thoughts. Her beaming smile erased the dark clouds in my mind, pushing them to the far recess of my head, allowing me to enjoy the delicious lunch.

It was the best curry I had ever eaten.

* * *

Yawning after seating in the comfy first-class couch for a tad too long, Elesia peeked at the blue sky displayed on the window on her side. The section was sparse, because it was the low season for jetsets and financial giants, allowing her to enjoy some privacy. It's something she secretly coveted these last few months, strangely, since males seemed to be much more active and interested in her. It confused her, as someone that didn't particularly dress up that often, she also rarely interacted with normal human men.

' _Maybe it's the new hair? Shirou said he loved it...'_

Unconsciously, she began to twirl her fingers on the mentioned subject, silently lamenting not taking care of her hair more. If Shirou loved it, then there's space for improvement on this part of her body... Her heart always leaped at his praise, causing her to smile to no one in particular.

Thank God for first-class seating arrangements.

Suddenly, her heart was gripped with worry.

It wasn't due to her previous thoughts, or because the mission she's undertaking now was more dangerous. Simply, she was worried she's getting too lax.

Thinking of hair salons on the plane, or planning on more curry experiments... useless thoughts were abundant in her mind, which she quickly stopped. The Bow of Burial Agency decided to finish her preparations first, rather than prioritizing personal matters. It's the work ethic that got her so far, so she followed it.

Lately, she could feel herself gotten stronger. No, 'stronger' wasn't the correct word.

She had reached perfection.

It wasn't the 'perfection of self' that monks chased, or the 'perfection of arts' many crafters pursued with all their heart. Simply, she felt herself couldn't get any stronger, faster, or better, both physically and magically. She reached a plateau in her ability, the 'peak of humanity', as Roa recorded in his grimoires.

Everyone was praising her, admiring her. Narbareck, the rest of Burial Agency, Shirou... heck, even Altrouge Brunestud did too. Her tasks became simpler and simpler each day, not in terms of complexity, but the ease in which she completed them.

Truth be told, it bored her.

Elesia knew too well such thoughts were dangerous. It caused people to be reckless just for the sake of it, to chase that particular adrenaline rush caused by a deadly situation. People spoke of the stagnation that drove them insane, simply because they had tasted something more exciting in the past.

It might sound odd, coming from someone that had just been dabbling in the Moonlit World for about three years. Most were bewitched by the sheer amazement, just by knowing things that could be done which science couldn't achieve or fathom, and the elation in actually doing so kept their drive to research more. Almost all of them eventually set their eyes on Akasha, the ultimate Record of Everything.

However, because of her... history, none of that had mattered to her. The things she desired were already fulfilled... And so, slowly but surely, she found herself not wanting anything.

She shook her head to clear her thoughts. Philosophical monologues were good for self-introspection, but now wasn't the time for it.

Just in time, as if it's reading her mind, an announcement came from the flight deck.

' _Greetings, Misaki City...'_

* * *

First things first, then.

Elesia's feet led her to an upscale apartment. It's one of those new 'modern-style' buildings, primarily colored in white, with minimalistic design intended to emulate elegance through function. Being from the countryside, it's a refreshing change of scenery, though it's not to her own tastes.

That said, one of the owners held such strength that she had no chance of winning against that person, even with her current strength.

She had read about the beings called 'Servants', those familiars who sounded more like divine beings given flesh. She read the reports of their might and prowess, and how she would compare favorably against the weaker ones, the second-tiers. The comment, said by Shirou, would be grating in a normal conversation... That was, until she faced one of the directly.

Amakusa Shirou Toshikada. That's Shirou's true name.

Of course, he humiliated her. In bodily might, in Magecraft, in guile, he outclassed her in every single parameter. The defeat made his comment even more spot on.

She's strong. Even Elesia herself knew it. Incorporating Roa's ability to her own, and training it to the maximum, granted her power which no humans could compare. The ones who could pose a threat to her were supernatural beings, such as the Servant Ruler, Shirou Kotomine.

The person she was about to meet eclipsed them all.

She didn't bother with stealth, as it's likely the beast inside was already aware of her existence the instant she stepped off the plane. Vigilance never hurt, though, so she proceeded calmly.

Arriving at the intended suite, Elesia knocked for courtesy.

"Come in," a muffled female voice said from behind the door.

What she saw was an otherworldly beauty.

Golden hair as if strewn from sunlight itself. Fair, marble-like skin. Gorgeous body proportions supported her lovely face. Finally, her bewitching red eyes which captivated your soul, drowning yourself in their beauty.

"Pardon me, Arcueid Brunestud."

Taking off her shoes, as was the custom in this country, she stepped into the neatly arranged room and sat into one of the armchair. The seemingly rude gesture was allowed simply because these two were acquainted. Well, not that Arcueid herself was strict on manners like her sister, but behaving as Elesia did in front of one of the most powerful being on the planet was still incredibly foolish.

As a matter of fact, the vampire princess in question was slightly distracted by the mosquito buzzing in front of her, causing her to greet her guest half-heartedly. Elesia didn't bother getting annoyed; Arcueid's odd behavior was well-documented. The only things forbidden when being in her presence were direct insult and treating her like a tool, the latter of which Elesia added personally after analyzing the White Princess's history and emotions from Roa's memories.

Instead, treating Arcueid as a friend was safer than playing the professional. Still, it's not as if Elesia was comfortable with strangers in the first place, hence her rather stiff demeanor.

At last, Arcueid turned her attention to the other person in the room, after seemingly forgetting her existence.

"Oh! it's Ciel!" The True Ancestor cheerfully greeted. She leaped from her bed, then hugged- no, crushed her new friend's face into her big, squishy bosom.

' _I'm not jealous. I. Am. Not. Jealous.'_

Repeating the words inside her head, Elesia calmly disentangled herself from the clingy vampire, leading the latter to sulk slightly.

Coughing to hide her embarrassment, the Burial Agent spoke, "Ah... it's nice to meet you as well. Regretfully, I can't stick around to play, so let's hurry and help me finish this job."

"Ooohhh... I cooked enough curry to share tonight, though..."

"G-Guh...!" Elesia nearly choked. "I'll... be fine, thank you!"

Cocking her head playfully, Arcueid hummed and started to move around the room, collecting some papers and random objects, before depositing them onto the coffee table. To Elesia's surprise, it seemed the airheaded White Princess could actually do some serious work for once. Not that she'd admit it any time soon.

To her surprise, Arcueid produced a heavy, disappointed sigh. Fearing for the worst, Elesia spoke, "I take it didn't go very well?"

Their partnership, if you could call it that, started a few occasions ago when both of them met to eliminate a piece of Roa's soul. Of course, it turned into a massive brawl, with herself mainly on the losing side. Roa's Magecraft was incompatible with Arcueid's powers and Marble Phantasm, and even in her weakened state, it was enough to wipe the floor with Elesia. However, with some mediation from the Church, they managed to separate them both long enough to hold some sort of discussion.

One of the most important things Elesia learned from her mentor, regarding interpersonal relationship, was to always regard the other party in a positive light. It didn't only extend to an amicable relationship, but to actually create a bond of friendship between her and the other party. This way, it made them trust her and easier to predict, and if necessary, to manipulate.

Really, she couldn't see how on earth no one had ever attempted this tactic with Arcueid Brunestud. Alright, the threat of death facing the Princess perhaps was a major turn-off, but wasn't that the very basic of the basics? Must one wait until the situation become the background of an eroge, where only the protagonist seemed to be able to see the heroine as a proper human being?

Well, it turned out, such was the case.

Elesia was actually the first existence that acknowledged Arcueid Brunestud as a person, not a weapon.

It was after that discussion she found out the fearsome Princess of the True Ancestors was just... the same as herself. Just a girl, no more, no less. It just so happened that both of them were burdened with great power, and thus greater responsibilities.

As a person, Arcueid was painstakingly innocent and clumsy, with no knowledge whatsoever regarding human culture and values. Her personality, once they bonded, was incredibly adorable and heartwarming, emulating a feeling of protectiveness from Elesia, even if she didn't need it. All in all, she found her new friend to be very likable.

And that was the beginning of their friendship. They fought, they bickered, they protected each other when they met, and they helped each other during other circumstances. It was a rocky road, but also a fun one.

All of that meant both of them could read each other's emotions easily.

Arcueid wasn't the best decision maker when rushed, so Elesia opted to wait for the other party to start her explanation.

"Ehh,,, well, it's complicated," Arcueid explained, a sheepish look on her face. "I faced him, but before I could finish him off, some... interference came."

"I don't think it ever stopped you anyway, but, please, continue."

"His sister came," the vampire claimed, but it didn't cause any surprises among them. There had been occasions where the target's current family held a strong attachment to the target, some out of love, some because they're brainwashed. Those innocents had always been sidelined peacefully whenever possible.

So, whatever that sister of his did, it must've been something pretty special.

Arcueid grimaced, before saying, "She ate him."

A stunned silence reverberated across the room.

Suddenly, Arc, as she was nicknamed, waved her hands about in an effort to correct her words. "Ah, no, no! I don't mean in the literal sense!" Leaning closer to Elesia, she said, "The sister has some sort of... absorbing ability. I checked, their bloodline was heavily influence by demonic blood. It's maybe one of her abilities."

Massaging the bridge of her nose, Elesia asked, "And this is why you called me here so urgently?"

"Yup!" A cheerful smile answered.

To be fair, their specialties were both very different. Elesia, by virtue of Roa's power, possessed incredible versatility and speed, but Arc had way more firepower and stamina. To handle matters like this, the True Ancestor just wasn't suited for it.

Nodding in acceptance, the Church agent agreed. "Fine. Where's her location now?"

"Oh? It's the Second Owner's house, the Tohno mansion right up the hill."

* * *

Walking through the street the next morning, Elesia began to appreciate the simplicity of a small city. The weather's nice for a winter morning, cold, but with plenty of sunshine. The sound of vehicles were noticeably sparse, compared to Vatican City, with only the high-pitched squeals of students broke the monotonous hum. The smell and sounds of restaurants and cafes opening, mixed in with the frost, wafted through her nostrils. It's nice...

The only drawback of this trip was the mission itself.

She had contacted the Tohno family beforehand, letting them know of her arrival. It might sound dumb at first, giving her location to her target, but Arc said they were cooperative, with the exception of the sister herself. _'Well, the more, the safer,'_ she thought.

The current head was a young man called Shiki Tohno. From the files the Church and the Association compiled, he was an adopted son, taken from the now-extinct Nanaya family, one of Japan's supernatural authority. How he ascended to his current position was unclear, but Elesia wouldn't pay it much of a mind, anyway.

The sister, Akiha Tohno, was the former head, likely forced to step down because of the current shenanigans. Thankfully, the family was able to contain her, preventing any more victims in the city proper.

Since Arc had already cleaned up the ghouls, it left her to finish the job.

The current head had personally requested for someone to exorcise the target, while leaving the target unharmed, at least physically. To Arc, who could only smash the enemy to kingdom come, it's an impossible task. Therefore, Elesia was here.

While reviewing the information, Elesia detected some living signatures approaching the corner at high speed. Probably some students running late, but it wouldn't harm anyone to be careful.

Pausing to let the students pass, her eyes widened as one of them simply crossed the street without looking. It was female, with brown hair tied in twintails, with a uniform she associated with one of the nearby schools. Her friends stopped, then shouted at her to halt as well...

Because a motorcycle was approaching at a much faster velocity.

The girl froze, her brain overclocking her 'fight-or-flight' response. It's not uncommon, but saving her life took priority. The motorcyclist reacted slightly too late, swerving his bike so much that he fell over, throwing the bike in a straight line towards the horrified student.

Just as the 400-pound bike crossed the intersection, Elesia was already on the other side of the road, the girl safely tucked in her arms.

Lowering the stunned girl, the nun smiled and patted her head. "Be careful next time, okay? A few minutes isn't worth your life."

By now, the girl's face was blushing, likely embarrassed from being scolded gently. The lights switched, and her friends ran over and swarmed her. Elesia took it as a cue for her to leave, so she turned towards her intended destination.

"U-Um... Thank you very much!" A stuttering voice called out.

Without looking back, she waved her hand in the air, telling the girl not to mind it much.

Shirou saved her. It's only natural for her to save others, as well.

* * *

' _Filthy rich...'_

Despite her best efforts, such were the first thoughts that crossed Elesia's mind.

She still couldn't fathom rich people's taste for extravagance. She understood in theory, that appearance and style in this segment of people were important, but being raised to be as an efficient spender as possible, the idea of actually living in such wasteful luxury was alien to her.

Well, at least the decor was tastefully arranged.

One of the maids in kimono, the elder sister, came over and served tea politely.

Elesia instantly hated the look in the young woman's eyes. Empty, with a scornful hatred for her surroundings. Her smile was only a thick mask, serving to hide her scars and experiences, but the nun could observe a malicious flame burning behind those expressionless amber eyes. It was a look she observed far too many times, during her trips around the world. 'Abused women' were the top choice.

However, judging by her age, the current head wasn't the one responsible for it. Someone, probably in the previous head's era, before Akiha Tohno became head, caused it.

It explained nicely the disturbing feeling she had when Elesia stepped in through the gates.

The mansion was far too empty and lifeless. She detected only 4 living souls inside the grounds, one isolated a distance away, in a mansion that could serve 5 times that. The furniture were properly cleaned and maintained, so perhaps this house was sheltering quite a number of people until recently. Having a Dead Apostle Ancestor among your housemates was bound to drive people out.

Already, her mood had darkened. She consciously placed it under a tight lid to avoid botching the negotiations, but it simmered there, waiting for a release.

A few minutes later, Shiki Tohno arrived.

He looked exactly like the picture she was given, but the dossier didn't do him justice. On the outside, he looked like the average high-schooler, wearing glasses and all. But she could feel it.

This man was a killer.

The Nanaya family specialized in assassinations, combining their incredible physical prowess, the fruit of intense training, with their unique abilities inherited by their blood. Decades of inbreeding had only honed their skills, with surprising resistance towards the handicaps inbreeding usually brought.

In front of her, sat the pinnacle of all those years.

Her mind tried to calm her down, knowing that this person's blade would never have reached her, but she decided to heed her instincts this time. It screamed of danger, saying that this person was capable of killing her, once and for all.

"Thank you for coming."

His voice was soft... and tired. Looking closer, even if his eyes were still sharp behind those glasses, his body language certainly showed his fatigue. A few creases on his clothes, the lopsided glass on his nose, and the slight trembling in his hands as he sipped his tea were some of them.

Inwardly, Elesia berated herself for letting fear of death consumed her, letting herself to miss the basic things. What did she fear? She didn't mind dying, only avoiding it because it would sadden Shirou, and prevented her from seeing him again.

"Pardon my rudeness," she replied calmly, "but if you're not well, Tohno-san, we can do this another time..."

He weakly shook his head. His lips were pale, though they're regaining redness by the second. His physical fortitude must be formidable, judging by the bite marks on his neck revealed by his movements. Had Roa's symptoms already reached to that point? A beast that craves blood had to be put down, not exorcised.

Tohno showed her a small smile. It's a smile of resignation, not of happiness or glee. "She's... worsening with every moment. I'd rather not wait."

Nodding in understanding, Elesia put down her cup. The maid was still there, clearly showing her position in this mansion, giving her the privilege to listen to her master's conversation.

He motioned the maid over.

"Kohaku, please secure the perimeter. No one in, or out. Tell Hisui to postpone the cleaning, and don't go to the market today."

With the same static smile, the maid... Kohaku bowed deeply, before leaving without a word. Elesia still couldn't supress the chill inside her when she gazed at the redhead. It's different from the one she got from Shiki Tohno... it's more... primal, perhaps?

' _Something more primal than a fear of dying? I'd hate to know what it is...'_

Standing up, the master of the house motioned her to follow him. To his credit, despite his sub-par condition, his footsteps and movements were still fluid and steady, just like how an assassin would move. From behind, she could see a bulge of a knife sheath showing from under his clothes.

' _Meeting a guest while armed? ...Alright, I'm not unarmed either, but geez...!'_

They moved out of the back door into a private garden. The size of it astonishes the nun, as Japan was constantly plagued with city planning issues of area, but this land... it's more like a forest! _'God, how rich is this family?!'_

Nothing less from a Second Owner, she presumed.

Being a magus, she could feel the leyline saturating the area under this... patch of land, causing her to scowl lightly. She, like all Executors, depended on her senses to detect magical energy. Being shrouded in mana like this dulled her senses, leaving her vulnerable.

Shiki Tohno showed her a knowing smile, which caused her to apologize with a slight bow. To prevent unwanted attacks, she decided to do something about it.

On the next step, she inhaled, no, _absorbed_ all the surrounding mana.

Immediately, Gaia filled the space again, but very slowly. Her drainage radius wasn't that large when unaided with a ritual, but it's enough to noticeably thin the mana around. Now, the isolated presence she felt before shone like fireflies in the night.

"Ah..." An astonished voice leaked out from the man before her. Immediately regaining his composure, he said, "Akiha could do that too."

They continued walking. A few moments later, Elesia decided to find out more about her potential opponent. Someone, no, _something_ that could kill Roa's chosen body and devour him was dangerous enough, but now she's certain that they'd come to blows if she weren't careful. It's clear that Akiha Tohno meant a lot to the person walking beside her, or the Tohno family head would've killed her long ago.

Clearing her throat, she asked, "If I may, what's her ability?"

He stopped suddenly, causing Elesia to stop as well. With a difficult face, he explained, "It's called 'Origami'."

"The Japanese folding art?"

He chuckled. "No, no. It means 'Caging Hair', though it sounds the same." Closing his eyes, he continued, "With it, she's able to plunder lifeforce from other living beings, which, at a lower level, let her to simply absorb heat from them. From an outsider's perspective, it looks like she's setting things on fire, but she only draws the heat directly from the target, not affecting stuff like clothes and such."

"What's her effective range?" Elesia pondered.

"Just about her entire field of vision..." Shiki's eyes widened in realization. "We're... not going to fight her, are we?"

She grimly denied, "Unfortunately, I think we will."

The young man's face showed a look of anger and shock, but restrained it by clenching his fist tightly. She knew it was hard, but it seemed like he momentarily forgot who they're dealing with, and how powerful the monster awaiting them at the end of this road. He's a professional, sure, but he let his affections for that woman cloud his judgement, though Elesia couldn't fault him for it. Balancing between emotions and cold-blooded pragmatism was always tough, but it was the way she was taught by Shirou. It's an admirable way to live, not defective as many said.

Elesia calmly explained, "I've seen... people like her, too many times. I always strive for a peaceful solution, but, most of the time, it turned into a deathmatch." She put a reassuring hand on his shoulder, but it wasn't effective. "If it really goes south, please, I'd like you to not interfere. Understand?"

He hung his head low, and because of their similar height, the action hid his emotions from her sight. She could feel the tumultuous emotions swirling inside him, but rather than saying some insensitive things and made the situation worse, she decided to just walk ahead of him.

Soon, she heard some shuffling behind her, and sure enough, she saw his body overtook her much more quickly. His pace turned into a light jog, then a sprint, at a borderline inhuman speed. It wasn't so fast that she had to put a serious effort to catch up to him, but it worried her.

As soon as they sped up, he stopped again.

"Tohno-san?" Elesia asked warily.

Biting his lip, Shiki replied, "Can you... just wait here for a moment?"

She glanced in front of them, where a small cottage stood in the middle of the forest. Understanding what he was about to do, she started to object. However, she saw the look in his eyes.

Those weren't the eyes of a murderer.

He loved Akiha Tohno, so dearly he'd rather give up his life for her.

Therefore, she decided to let him do as he wanted. It was very likely this would be the last time he'd be able to do so. Also, her strength right now made her confident in taking on the target, even if Akiha Tohno was helped by the man beside her.

* * *

The sliding door opened.

Both of them turned their attention immediately towards the door.

' _Beautiful...'_

Even Elesia must admit, the woman stepping out was stunning. The blood-crimson hair swaying in the moonlight entranced all eyes looking at her, while the intricate pattern on her red kimono suited her slim figure well. Her skin was fair for a Japanese, with a grace that equalled many supermodels and the envy of many women. It wasn't to the level of Arcueid or Altrouge, but for a human, with her many flaws and defects, it only made her more attractive.

Akiha Tohno.

' _The target... Hang on, her movements aren't right...!'_

Rather than calling it wrong, Akiha's... trodding around as if unaware of everything else in the world. No, perhaps calling her movements as 'childish' would be more correct. With a blank look reflected on those two crimson eyes, her expression was exactly like that of a toddler walking outside for the first time. Her mouth opened and closed, but all Elesia could hear was unintelligible mumbling and moans.

It was eerily similar to ghouls and wraiths.

' _This isn't human anymore. She's... a beast.'_

A hand on the nun's shoulder stopped her attack.

What faced her was a pair of pleading grey orbs.

"Please," a desperate voice called out.

Shiki leaped off the ground, entering Akiha's range.

Instantly, his sister gleamed with joy, reflected clearly in her eyes. It was the eyes of an animal seeing their meal.

Elesia prepared herself. It's clear that Shiki Tohno planned to feed the girl blood, strengthening her. If this was what the man planned, collaborating with the target to kill the nun, then all she had to do was wipe them all out.

That's supposed to be the plan.

However, the look on Shiki's eyes were sincere. Those weren't the eyes of someone aiming for another's life, but one which aimed to save another.

He pleaded for Elesia to save his beloved.

' _I need to learn to say 'no' to these stuffs...'_

'Saving' meant 'to eliminate Roa without any harm to the body'. The difficulty difference was like a novice party thrown into a special, Level 0-type lethal joke boss in a lower level. Regardless, the current Elesia would try her best, just because it was improbable to succeed. After all, a dream easily achieved wouldn't be a dream at all, right?

The red beast embraced her prey. Immediately, her mouth clamped onto Shiki's neck, piercing it with her fangs.

The nun revolted in disgust. Yes, she remembered that ecstatic look.

Elesia once saw the exact expression by looking at the mirror.

The boy's face winced from the pain. Admirably, the loving gaze he directed at the monster never wavered. It was like a calm, steady lake, accepting every faults and defects of the opposite side. Honsetly, it was one Elesia was weak against, being on the receiving end from such stares from Shirou.

Which was why she stood still, trusting Shiki Tohno to save his lover.

Like a leaf rustling in the wind, a quiet voice whispered. It was so faint she had to strain her ears to catch it, and even then she wasn't sure what she heard. But it was all she needed.

"Akiha..." the voice echoed, "I'm sorry."

Two sets of five-sided prism overlapped around Akiha Tohno, genereated by the array of Black Keys embedded to the ground. Shiki Tohno had jumped out of the way just in time, landing near Elesia to her side.

"▄▄▄██████!"

The roar of the beast was muted through the barrier, though the sight of his woman screaming in agony caused pain to show on Shiki's face.

However, Elesia didn't stop.

Calmly, she threw a Bible into the air, letting the pages furl along with the wind. Like dandelion seeds, the pages tore themselves from the bindings, fluttering everywhere imitating a swarm of butterflies.

They turned into Black Keys, then resonated with the ones already binding Akiha and floated together in formation, their target also flying inside them.

Sixty Black Keys. Twelve sets of five. Twelve stars in twelve pentagrams, each carving a different ritual spell, circled themselves above, below, in front, behind, left, right, and everywhere in between the target.

Flashes of struggle showed from inside the barrier. Small ripples created by hard, physical blows, straining to punch through the formation. Shifts in color as Akiha tried to plunder the energy surrounding her, but her Origami was repelled as soon as they touched. However, none of them worked.

The great dodecahedron floated and stopped a few meters in the air.

" **I will kill. I will let live."**

" **Let the cups be filled five times. Fill. Fill. Fill. Fill. Fill."**

" **Five elements shall be balanced."**

" **Be gone, shadows. I am the Truth."**

" **Let these five be Your proof."**

" **I beseech the Five Kings against Gibeon."**

" **Five gates. Five guardians. You shall not enter."**

" **Five thousand will thrive on this five."**

" **Remember the fallen five. More will come."**

" **You wounded Me five times.**

" **Faith. Prayer. Charity. Purity. Respect. Those are the five pillars."**

" **Align: Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune."**

" **These five rings are our bond, our unity."**

Even with High-Speed Incantations, chanting a dozen spells still took her a full minute, and a great amount of Prana as well. The mana around her was dried up, absorbed to the brim inside her body. Her concentration was to such an extreme that if Shiki decided to stab her from behind, there was nothing she could do but trust him not to do it.

Why the trouble, you might ask?

The reason both Elesia and Arcueid arrived in Misaki City was because this particular incarnation of Roa was the 'proper' one. That was, the one that should've inherited Roa' soul after she died. The strength emanating from the amalgamation of decades-old demon blood with a Dead Apostle Ancestor's soul was immense, far more than the others she had taken down.

Extracting such a soul from a human being, albeit a half-demon one, was a feat of Spiritual Healing incredibly difficult for her. She had done it before, a few times, but all with Shirou's assistance and supervision. But, as usual, the one that mattered the most right now was one of the most difficult.

How difficult? 'Threading-a-needle-with-the-end-of-a-bulldozer' difficult, then using said needle to sow a row of buttons. With the same bulldozer.

Nevertheless, she soldiered on.

Because she had decided to save Akiha Tohno.

* * *

"EEEHHHHHHHHHHHHH?!"

An entire class turned around at the noise of a moron shouting so early in the morning.

Luckily, a well-placed liver blow silenced any more slip-ups from his mouth, so all was well. The class turned back around, pretending as if nothing had happened. It was better that way.

"U-um..."

Thankfully, this person wasn't nearly as annoying or obtuse as the previous one, so Shiki could greet her with better manners.

With a small voice, close to a whisper, Satsuki Yumizuka asked, "You're not going to college? And m-marriage?! Why so sudden, Tohno-kun?"

Shiki simply smiled, before explaining, "You know that Akiha's not coming to school lately, Yumizuka-san?"

A nod answered his question.

Putting a long expression, he continued, "She was... terminal, putting it lightly. Very ill."

Satsuki gasped, putting both hands to cover her mouth.

"She's better now, but... I have to take care of her, you know?" Shiki smiled sadly. "It's the least I can do, as her older brother."

"Owaa..." A voice of admiration leaked out from Satsuki's lips.

She's a single child, so she had no idea what it was like taking care of a younger sibling, or being taken care of by an older one. But, seeing her best friend act like this, she had a vague ideal of what a brother should be. What girl won't be happy being cared for so sincerely?

Of course, she had a recent experience regarding that sort of thing, only with a another girl, though...

"Oh, Tohno-kun!" She exclaimed, "Do you know of any big churches nearby?"

"Hmm? No, not really... Why do you ask?"

Misaki City was a modern city in terms of its demograhy, but Christianity still hadn't gotten that strong of a foothold amongst the Japanese. Therefore, a proper church still hadn't been planned in the city (of which he knew the planning quite well, after being the Tohno head), let alone a big one.

"Ah, I was saved by this really cool nun, you see! She moved so fast, it's like a bullet!"

Shiki was grateful there wasn't anything in his mouth, or he might have choked.

"O-Oh," he sweatdropped. "What does she- er, the nun look like?"

Her eyes shone with worship. "Ooohhhh, she's really beuatiful! Short hair, glasses, like a knight! Kyaaa!" She placed her palms on her cheek while squealing. "And then, and then! Her smile is soooo amazing! She said also to me 'be careful'!"

She ranted on for a few more minutes, attracting quite a lot more attention from their classmates, which in turn lead her to tell them her story, and it ended up into a commotion. They were all interested in the newcomer heroic nun, and with Satsuki's friends chipping in on the witness accounts, soon afterwards the entire school had heard about it. It took the attention from Shiki's paling face and his red-headed friend lying half-dead on the floor, thankfully.

* * *

Silently, Shiki entered the large bedroom in his house.

In the middle of it, there laid a large king-sized bed, clearly far too large and extravagant to be used by a single person. It even had a canopy, for crying out loud. The rest of the room was surprisingly sparse, with only a few personal touches here and there tastefully decorating the chamber.

His current fiancee was sleeping peacefully.

With a loving smile, he drifted towards the edge of the bed, then gingerly sat down. His hand unconciously reached to stroke Akiha's hair, but his touch was light to avoid waking her.

However, as if sensing the connection between their souls, her delicate eyelids fluttered open, staring at him sleepily with her blue eyes. Seeing her lover, she lifted her body to get closer to him, but a firm hand held her down. Instead, he moved his leg closer to her, then lifted her head onto his lap.

She weakly smiled at his gesture, one which he returned. He bent down, kissing her forehead and nose. He deliberately avoided her lips to maintain whatever restrain he had in his mind.

Akiha's body felt terrifyingly light. Shiki willed his hand not to tremble with frustration, but he had never been able to keep secrets well from his sister, so he smiled bitterly.

Feeling her brother's pain, she caressed his cheeks, before the strength in her arm ran out and it fell limply again.

Ever since Roa's extermination, her physical condition had worsened considerably. It's not fatal, and she's slowly recuperating, but her rehabilitation was also very harsh. Even with Ciel's expertise, she had not been able to keep the exorcism from fully harming Akiha, thus her current bedridden state. It was miles better than her previous rampaging state, and the nun had suspected it's the forceful pludering of Roa's concept from SHIKI Tohno's body that caused her own body to reject it, creating various complications.

Thankfully, a priest from the Holy Church, Ciel's mentor, came by. He diagnosed Akiha's condition, and perscribed many treatments and rehabilitation she had to take. The priest had warned them to precisely follow the instructions, since he said he wouldn't have time to regularly check up with them.

Honestly, at that time, even if it's the Devil himself speaking, Shiki would never even think of disobey his instructions.

This morning, she spent time with an experienced physiotherapist from the Demon Hunter Association as part of the routine. As Akiha's soul had been scarred during the fusion with Roa, it also catered towards spiritual healing as well. The improvements were far too slow and tiny to Shiki's liking, but they were there.

His decision to marry Akiha was not an impulsive one. Akiha was the one keeping their relatives from poaching the Tohno main family after its previous head died, and indirectly, Shiki himself. If he legally was her husband, he could continue her effort, and repay her at the same time. It's a win-win situation. There was opposition, of course, but he could handle that part well enough. Being adopted certainly helped during the DNA-testing.

They continued like that, just leaning into each other, feeling their touch, their heat, their presence. The weather was good, as the refreshing spring breeze flew through the window. The scent of Akiha's body wafted into his nostrils, enveloping his inside with her presence, reminding him of that night together...

Both of them stayed, wishing for static eternity like this.

* * *

 **At last, we reached the end of the story. Fear not, for those that still seek more, there's still the (considerably long) Epilogue after this. I won't promise any timeline on that, but I promise you I'm slaving away to do many things right now, and the Epilogue is one of them. I don't want to rush it, but at the same time I want to do justice to you all that's been with me this far.**

 **Thank you very much, and review!**


	5. Final Memories

**And... welcome to the final chapter. It's a somber topic for me, since this was my first (from many, I hope) farewells to all of you in a story. As always, I want to start by thanking all of you that have taken your time to read, review, follow, and favorite this story. All of your support means the world to me.**

 **Now, without further ado, please enjoy.**

* * *

Deep inside the Romanian border, there was once a castle. No, calling it a castle wasn't accurate.

It's a fortress.

Just a few days ago, it had been the possession of an esteemed noble family, dating back to the period before World War I. Sometimes, the other citizens of the city Trifas could see strange things moving about inside the castle walls, illuminated by the dim lighting of its interior. The witnesses always reported different things, but there was one common denominator in their reports.

Those things were inhuman.

Therefore, all of them dared not to approach the family's vicinity. Every night, there was an agreed curfew between the elders of the town, to prevent people from accidentally doing something unpleasant. Deep down, they're more scared of the family's wrath than even God's.

Monsters, they said. Witches, they said. Demons, they said.

They had no idea how close to the truth their whispered slanders were.

All these decades, the city of Trifas lived in peace. The peace was created from fear of the oppressors, true, but it was peace nonetheless. The city endured through two World Wars and a Cold War under the shadows of the Yggdmillenia family, silently cowering behind its gigantic back. And in all those times, there was no conscription, no rations, no checkpoints...

As if the country itself was afraid to cross the city border.

And so, the citizens had learned to accept the odd family. The members of Yggdmillenia were predictably distant and aloof to others, and the people accepted that. For security, for safety, they accepted the devil to rule their domain. When they walked down the street, people would part like the sea in front of Moses, allowing their bright white uniform to march unhindered. When a new rule was brought into the city without further notice, the people quietly followed, knowing that disobedience would be punished severely.

All these years, they lived in an isolated microcosm.

But then everything changed.

* * *

Elesia felt the smooth ground crunch under her feet.

In her field of vision, there was a gigantic wasteland in the shape of a crater. Small dark dots in the distance marked the places of her comrades, who all came along to investigate the remains of the latest Grail War. Their orders were to secure the Holy Grail, and retrieve valuable information back to the Holy Church.

A few months back, she would never have acknowledged such order. As a part of Burial Agency, she had the right to refuse a direct order and move independently within reason, and the only interest she had in this case was Shirou's participation. She had heard of the failure of the Third War, of how the founding families got screwed over right in front of their eyes, their prized chalice taken away.

Now, her knees felt weak, as if their joints would give up in each step. Her body moved instinctively, her muscles moving in a practiced manner from memory. Her mind was processing the scene, automatically recording any important pieces of evidence that might be useful to be analyzed later.

But her heart was shattered.

A few months ago, she had questioned Shirou of his participation in the War. He had survived the previous one unscathed, granted a new body to live on this world, so why did he still chase the Holy Grail? Why not live his new life and enjoy it to the fullest? If it's her, that's what she would do... which in fact, she did. Her life was turned upside down by Roa, but Shirou gave her a new lease of life.

She was happy. She had a healthy body, she had all the time and money to sample delicious food, and she was married to the man she loved. What more could she ask? Alright, the job was a little demanding, but she deemed it a sufficient sacrifice for this new life she's living.

She had an issue with normal humans, who seemed to want more, and more, and more, a lot more than their own capacity. They were slave to their own greed, a mindset she couldn't comprehend at all. Why couldn't a human heart be ever satisfied with what they have?

She had thought Shirou to be different. She watched his life, his hardships as a Saint, and she heard his stories of the Grail War, and how he desired it so badly. He shared with her his ideals and his dreams, and she found them beautiful. He wasn't chasing the Holy Grail for personal gains, unlike those impure humans. He's selfishly selfless, only trying to save humanity... to give them happiness and hope in this world.

She had asked him, once. Was he satisfied saving her?

He said yes.

It was her mistake, after all.

By that answer, she had assumed her husband was contend living in this era. She thought he could use his powers, and hers too, to save many others in this world, without relying on some untested miracle like the Holy Grail. She had quietly told him about her train of thought in a roundabout way, not wanting to directly challenge his belief.

In hindsight, that conversation was the source of all this discord inside her.

He never let go. Ever.

When the news came, she cried.

For the second time in her life, she cried.

For the second time in her life, the person she loved died. So she cried.

She cried her hearts out. She screamed her throat out. She lashed out at people, at things, only to realize the pain in her heart would never go away.

It hurt.

It hurt to a degree she never felt before.

Inside her room, flashes of days gone by ran past her mind.

 _In a bright sunny morning, sounds of life began inside a well-hidden apartment in Bologna._

 _Elesia's well-trained reflexes snapped her conciousness awake. It's only a slight movement, nearly silent, from the body beside her, but that small shift of weight was enough._

 _Her hands moved with practiced grace, instinctively seeking the warmth that just laid beside her. The tips of her fingers found it, then she dragged her body upwards and coiled herself around that warmth, trying to keep it from going away._

 _A kiss on her forehead made her to reluctantly open her eyes._

 _The now familiar dark eyes stared into hers, causing her to break into a small smile, nuzzling up Shirou's neck. At times like this, the contact felt like a refreshing stream into her sleepy mind, stoking the fire inside her heart. The contradicting analogy worked for her, despite his jokes, so she kept with it._

 _Her lips found their way to his, letting him taste her love._

" _Why go?" She sulkily asked._

" _Because I have to."_

 _His tone was gentle, but there was a certain firmness to it. They'd discussed this at length previously, so her protests now was entirely subjective from her side. Mostly, she still wanted to be spoiled by him, deep inside, even though she strived to be more mature_

 _He stroked her cheek, kissing her one more time, before dressing up and left._

 _It was the last time she saw him._

Elesia let her head lean into the wall of her temporary residence.

The team had just finished the first day of investigation, and now was resting and letting the other team to rotate in shifts. The whole operations were based in Trifas and the nearby Sighisoara, and she was staying inside an inn at the latter.

There were more members staying in the same place, for sure, but all of them gave her a big berth of space. She hated their pity and sympathy, but she was at least glad for the privacy. Their treatment of her reminded her of her starting days, where she had just revived from the ordeal with Roa, leaving her weak. It's the stares that implied she was weak, so she loathed it.

She's strong.

Now, without Shirou, she had to be strong.

' _But it's so difficult...'_

So, why...?

Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?

Why did he leave her behind?

She saw it, what the Masters called a 'dream cycle'. She saw things he never told her, about his life, about his mind, about his wish. She saw how he interacted with his followers, how he desired for their happiness, and his grief as all 37,000 of them were executed in front of him.

Therefore, she strived to make him happy.

Elesia wished to save Shirou, after he saved her in return.

She learned how to cook. She learned how to sew. She learned how to speak properly, so she wouldn't be pointed at for standing beside him. She trained her body, so she could run beside him in his tasks. She learned how to make him feel good during sex. She learned how to love him, so that he could feel he was loved again.

In the end, she failed.

Could a human, in the end, not ever comprehend a Servant?

Was her love wrong, all this time?

The way he talked to her, the way he gazed at her eyes, the way he touched her body... was it all false after all?

No, she didn't want to believe that.

Unbeknownst to her, that was simply how the being called Amakusa Shirou Toshikada lived. He was earnest in everything he did and say, with a smooth tongue silking over any half-truths and contradictions. Elesia was actually correct, in a sense, since Shirou himself had never lied to her.

In fact, if she asked him in earnest, he would say honestly that he loved her.

No, now she understood.

He... never loved her as a woman.

Thinking back, the signs were subtle, but not such she couldn't pick up on it. Her parents said her gaze towards Shirou changed, in a way, when she realized her feelings towards him. She could feel her body and heart changing, becoming more antsy the closer she got to him.

However, even during that time, his behaviour around her never changed since they first met.

Of course, his habit around her shifted towards a caring husband, rather than a teacher. But... that's all. Nothing else had changed. Not his gaze, not his touch, not his way of talking, nothing. The amount increased, and the way he did things around her adjusted itself, but it was more like someone suddenly gaining a new roommate or partner.

The more she thought about it, the more the fact rang true, no matter how much she convinced herself otherwise.

Okay, if he really did only love her as a person, not a woman, then what about her feelings? Was it false as well?

...

The answer was definitely no.

It hurt, when her mind declared her theory was right. She could now relate to those women inside those stories, when they said it felt like their hearts were gouged out, since it felt like that now. She could feel her fighting spirit, usually abundant on and off the job, dimming in despair. The air aroung her felt suffocating, drowning her in a sludge of nightmare.

The dried tears threathened to spill again, but to no avail. They already ran out a long time ago.

In spite of this, she still loved him.

If she was betrayed, then she could take it. If he lied to or manipulated her, she might hate him in return. If he said he didn't love her anymore, she could fathom it somewhat.

But now, after much contemplation, she still loved him. Because all the above cases wasn't true.

She simply misunderstood him.

She thought she had converted him. She thought she had made him happy enough to abandon his dream, to make him chose staying with her. She had assumed if she loved him as a man, he would be able to return the same feelings to her, a human.

But he was a Servant, first and foremost. The dream he sought after, the one he clung onto so strongly he was able to become a Servant in the first place, was made possible in front of him. Ironically, this was the most humane part of him that she understood: the selfishness to pursue one's wish, no matter what. Honestly, if she could place herself in his shoes, she would do exactly the same.

The being called Elesia was just chains binding him down. And so, he shattered her.

It's painful, but she finally understood it all.

Simply put, he loved humanity as a whole more than he loved her as a single person.

' _What a shounen hero-like thinking...'_

How could she fault it? She had never participated in an actual war, much less the rebellion Shirou led. She had never witnessed in person a massacre of her comrades, and she had never felt how he actually felt at that time. She assumed the 'dream cycle' would give her a glimpse of his feelings, but all she could sense was just shadows, just apparitions on a photograph.

She was sure if she felt the real deal, her mind would go insane. Knowing this, Shirou never opened up to her.

So, it's fine.

' _Damn...'_

At long last, her tears returned.

* * *

Arcueid willed herself to run faster.

Her heart, normally calm and analytical in combat, raced like never before. She could feel her body brimming with urgency, and all that was keeping her from shortening the distance with her Marble Phantasm was the witnesses in the streets.

The small town was quiet. Normally a tourist attraction, the winter season had ended. The weather became worse lately, with unpredictable cold showers combined with harsh winds kept the city inside their walls. Even so, there was still a substantial amount of people in the streets: those working, and those who were used to it.

The environment was the least of Arc's concern, however.

An alarm in the back of her mind had patiently and consistently rang, telling her no matter how fast she's going, it was already too late. Her Marble Phantasm was powerful, but even she couldn't turn back the time when the event had already passed before she activated it. The person in question also wouldn't mind her arriving late, since again, the emergency had passed without fatalities.

The only thing whipping her to run this fast was her pride.

Arriving at her destination, she jumped over the fence, not caring about the Bounded Field trying to stop her from doing so. She didn't bother for the door, instead leaping over to the balcony and sliding open the glass door.

"CIIIIIEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLL!"

Empty.

' _H-Huh? It's supposed to be here...'_

Looking around the room she just entered, it was indeed empty.

Suddenly, the door knob clicked open.

"Dear, dear," a familiar face showed up. "What a racket you are making, dear sister."

Instantly, the air turned heavy and hostile, thick with killing intent from both sides. An onlooker would literally have been crushed by weight of both their power.

Against Arcueid's stern expression, Altrouge showed a calm smile.

"It's the wrong room, dimwit."

The killing intent vanished, leaving a confused Arcueid.

"A-Ah... Is that so?" Arc sweatdropped. She coughed to regain whatever left of her pride, before exclaiming, "Then lead the way."

Silently, they glided to the other side of the mansion, rubbing in Arc's failure of room choice. Altrouge knocked lightly on the wooden door, before opening it and ushered her younger sister in.

A sleepy Elesia greeted her weakly, exhaution clear on her face while she laid down comfortably on the soft bed.

"Man, you're loud..." grumbled the new mother.

Ignoring the comment, Arcueid was almost hopping in place with excitement. She then dashed forward towards the basket beside her friend's bed, a stupid smile on her face.

She saw the most beautiful thing in the world.

Small in stature, with soft, fair skin on weak flesh, its sleeping breath took all of Arcueid's conciousness away. Arcueid's facial muscles slackened. She didn't know what kind of face she was making, but she's sure it's a moronic one.

Grinning widely, she asked its- no, his mother without turning her head.

"What's his name?"

A calm voice answered, despite Elesia's amused face. "Shirou."

Immediately, Arcueid's elation fizzled out.

Frowning, she asked Elesia, "I don't mean to be rude, but there must be better names than _his_." She spat out the last word with venom, remembering the man who put her best friend in this state.

She was answered with a shake of the head.

"I think it's a most fitting one, no?" Elesia's tone incurred Altrouge's attention and support, and the Black Princess nodded.

"I think it's a name worth growing up to," Altrouge added. Initially, she didn't know the origin of her sister's animosity with the late priest. She always saw in a good light, for a human, at least. He's able and quick-witted, not to mention the only one she could seriously banter with without the opposite party bowing in fear or respect. Make no mistake, she highly regarded his abilities and intellect, but centuries of having her hands and feet served at every whim was quite boring and dull.

Really, it's just a widow and a child. Surely, her sister had seen worse?

Humans were an interesting, albeit bland creatures. Their insights and dreams were fascinating, as was their effort to reach them, but in the process almost all of them arrived and ran around the same point in their lives, without being able to move forward. She had witnessed mothers and fathers willingly gave up their child as an offering to her, and men or women butchering their elders and families to prove themselves to her. Compared to all that, this girl, Elesia, was very fortunate already.

Of course, Altrouge couldn't see the world in Arcueid's eyes, and vice versa, but she at least understood Elesia's pain from losing her husband. It's just she couldn't comprehend human views and opinions, while Arcueid could, owing to her extended interaction with humanity.

It's not a point worth fighting Arcueid over, though.

Still scowling, Arcueid argued, "I think you're both delusional. If I were you, Ciel, I'd master necromancy to bring him back, just to slug his face one last time. You want that, don't you?"

Elesia merely laughed. "Ha! I think... that it's you who didn't understand anything, Arcueid." She lifted her body, leaning closer to the White Princess and holding her hand. "But your concern makes me really happy. Thank you, Arcueid."

The sudden contact made Arcueid blush, but her confusion stood. "Well, enlighten me, then."

Leaning back into the bed, Elesia closed her eyes. She took a deep breath, as if in deep thought, before finally relanting.

"Once upon a time, there's a young boy called Shirou..."

* * *

 **Do you think this is goodbye? Luckily, it isn't.**

 **I have many more projects down the line, so I hope you all enjoyed this ride we all had. It's been a great fun! Look forward to my other stories in the future! I'll see you soon!**

 **Thank you for reading.**


End file.
